You're Everything I Never Knew I Needed and Everything I Ever Wanted
by photochic525
Summary: This takes place a few months after the end of Season 3 but Sam was never Reign. Sam and Ruby move to National City because Lena had asked Sam to be CFO of L-Corp so she could spend more time in the lap developing tech for the DEO. Lena invites everyone out to meet her best friend. Sam and Alex hit it off and things progress from there.
1. Chapter 1

Sam dropped down on the couch a bit harder than she intended. She hated moving. "Ruby if I ever get it in my head that we need to relocate again remind me of how terrible moving is. I'm not talking just a new city. No new houses either."

Ruby sat down next to her mom and laughed. "Well that choice is really up to you. I'm all for making National City our new home. I don't like moving either. But hey you don't have time to lounge around. Lena invited you out to meet her friends here in National City. You need to shower and change."

"But what if I want to stay here with you? Watching a movie and ordering take out sounds much more appealing."

Ruby quirked her eyebrow at her mom. "Nope we just moved to a new city and as much as I love spending time with you, you need to make some friends that are adults. Plus, it's been forever since you've been out without me so please just go. I'll be fine. Miss Queller seems like a nice lady. If she turns out to be some crazy serial killer I know who to call."

Sam gently shoved Ruby which elicited a laugh from her daughter. Ruby was right she hadn't had any friends in metropolis because she was so focused on taking care of Ruby. Lena had been her only friend that had stuck by her once Sam found out she was pregnant with Ruby. She also had to admit she was curious about this group of friends that Lena hasn't been able to stop talking about for months.

"Okay fine I'll go."

Ruby shot a fist into the air, "That's the spirit!"

It had been a long day at the DEO. Alex didn't want to go out tonight. Going home and crashing on her couch was all she wanted to do. But Kara had forced her to come based on the fact that Lena's oldest friend had moved into town and she wanted her to meet everyone. Kara had used her pout and being as mentally exhausted as she was she couldn't say no. Plus, Lena would take one look at her and realize that Alex had a day at work and buy her a couple of drinks to say thank you for coming out instead of going home.

Alex knew Lena was nervous about introducing Sam to everyone. Alex and Lena had become close over the last couple months. Kara had lied to her and Lena shut her out. Even though Alex was Kara's sister Lena never blamed her for not telling her that Kara Danvers and Supergirl were the same person. It wasn't Alex's secret to tell. It took some time but eventually Alex got Lena and Kara to sit down and hash out their differences. It hadn't been pretty. A lot of tears had been shed and a lot of hateful words exchanged but Lena had agreed to give Kara another chance.

She had taken too long in the shower and was running late. She pulled up on her Ducati just in time to see a beautiful brunette climb out of a Lexus. She was wearing a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up, a light grey V-neck t-shirt underneath, black skinny jeans and black boots. Her gorgeous light brown hair cascaded over her shoulders in loose curls. Before Alex could dismount her bike, the brunette looked in her direction. Alex was captivated by this woman. She knew she shouldn't keep staring but she couldn't take her eyes off of her.

Alex dismounted her bike and removed her helmet. Shaking out her hair and running her hands through it to smooth it out. After securing her helmet to her bike she turned toward where the mysterious brunette had been she was surprised to see her walk toward her. Alex got nervous all of a sudden and hoped she didn't make a fool of herself.

"That's a nice bike you've got there."

"Thanks. You ride at all?"

Alex watched as the woman's smile faded slightly. "I rode dirt bikes growing up. Was in quite a few races. Got pregnant at 17 and never rode again."

"That's a shame. About the riding thing not getting pregnant." Alex started rambling nervously. She ran a hand through her hair to help calm her nerves. The mysterious woman chuckled.

"I knew what you meant. It is but it is more dangerous than driving a car and being a single mother I didn't want to take any unnecessary chances with my life. My daughter would have been left with no one to take care of her. God now I'm rambling. You probably have someone waiting in there for you, so I'll let you go. It was nice meeting you."

Sam didn't know what had happened. She got out of her car and saw her dream motorcycle pull up with skin tight jeans and leather jacket clad driver. She hadn't intended to make her way over but when the rider took off her helmet Sam was drawn to the red head. Before she knew it she was standing in front of the bike.

"That's a nice bike you've got there" Geez Arias what was that. She wasn't surprised by her response. Nor did she expect the nervous rambling from the red head. If she was being honest she found it adorable. Sam hadn't meant to ramble on either, but the red head had the sexiest voice she had heard in a while. It did something to her. So, she got away before she made a fool of herself even more.

She walked into the bar and found Lena instantly. She made her way over to the small group of people. She was so nervous. These were Lena's new group of friends. Sam was happy that Lena had made some friends in National City. Sam was the only friend Lena had because when you're the daughter of an alien hating sociopath with the last name of Luther nobody wants to come near you.

Sam walked over to the booth everyone was sitting at and slid in next to Lena. "Sorry I'm late got caught up in un-packing and organizing the house."

Lena gave Sam an understanding smile, "You're not the only one running late." Lena motioned to the red head that Sam had talked to outside. Before Sam could fully compose herself, she had slid next to her in the last open seat in their booth.

Sam looked at her and they both smiled at each other. Sam could detect a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks just as she saw the same thing happening to the red head. They both continued to stare until Lena's voice got her attention.

Sam snapped her head toward Lena's, "What were you saying?"

Lena just quirked an eyebrow and filed away what she saw happening between Sam and Alex for later. "Sam these are my friends Winn Shott, James Olsen, Kara Danvers, and Alex Danvers. Everyone this is Sam Arias."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I've heard so many nice things about all of you and the epic game nights that you insisted Lena be a part of. I look forward to getting to know more about you all." Looking directly at Kara and pointing a finger in her direction Sam stated, "And how you managed to get Lena to agree to come to a game night and enjoy it enough to agree to attend regularly."

Kara laughed but it was James who answered, "Fair warning Kara has a pout that would put a puppy that got in trouble to shame. Very hard to say no to. I think the longest anyone has held out was 24 hours. The only person who is immune to the pout is Alex and that's only because they are sisters and she has learned to ignore it through years of practice."

"Also, because she's Alex 'I know how to torture you 6 different ways with my index finger' Danvers."

Winn was muttering to himself but Sam swore she heard him say something about torture with an index finger. Sam just shook her head and turned to Alex, "So you and Kara are sisters?"

Alex took a sip of her beer before she replied, "Yeah I only became friends with Lena because of that dork. Lena was struggling with something in her lab and Kara told her I would help Lena before I had ever agreed. That was 1 of the 5 times as an adult that I haven't been able to say no to the famous Kara Danvers pout. Not mad though Lena and I managed to figure out a solution and have been good friends ever since. So, I count that as a win."

Alex gently clinked her beer bottle with Lena's wine glass. She had disliked Lena at first because she was a Luthor. After working with her she had come to realize that she was basing her opinion of Lena off of her brother and mother's reputation and that wasn't fair. Lena was nothing like Lex and she definitely wasn't her mother. If anything she was the exact opposite.

"I'm just glad to know that Lena finally has a group of friends that care about her as much as I do. For the longest time we just had each other. Even if you guys end up not liking me I'm glad Lena's got you." Sam turned her head toward Alex just before she said the last part. God why couldn't she keep her eyes off of Alex?

It was Kara that spoke next, "Any friend of Lena's is definitely a friend of ours."

"Consider us like the group of misfits who don't fit in anywhere but somehow fit with each other. We each have our issues but we all seem to go through our lives better when we're together."

Winn said that with such fondness that it touched Sam deep in her core. She was beginning to think that maybe she would be able to fit in with Lena's new group. But before she could say anything someone from across the bar spoke.

"I never really thought of it before but misfits is definitely the term I would use to describe you all as a group. Because you, my beloved children are just that, a group of misfits. The name is J'onn and as much as I hate to admit it I have become the father that they all have been lacking in their lives. Sam it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Lena has been worried about you meeting her new-found family but I must say that her worry was unfounded. I can already sense you've got a good head on your shoulders, so you will do just fine with this group of misfits."

Sam picked up on the look J'onn and Alex shared immediately. It was something she recognized immediately. It was the same look she would give Ruby when she was particularly proud of something her daughter had done. She also noticed the way Alex looked at J'onn. This man was more important to her than he was to everyone else at this table.

She had no idea how J'onn knew she had a good head on her shoulders, but she definitely couldn't argue. Becoming a mother at 17 would do that to you. Sam sat back and watched the group of friends interact. It became clear pretty quick that they weren't just friends. No that term wasn't correct in describing this group. Family is the word she would use to describe this group of people.

Alex had finished her beer and offered to grab refills for the rest of the group. Sam excused herself on the premise of helping Alex bring all the drinks back but in reality, she just wanted to talk to her alone for a minute.

"So, tell me the truth…Is Kara's pout that hard to resist and is J'onn more than just a father figure to you?"

Alex laughed at the questions. It was a nice throaty laugh. Something Sam could never get tired of hearing. God getting to know Alex Danvers was going to be the death of her.

"Kara's pout isn't hard to resist if you have the ability to restrain yourself. It's easier for me because I've been showing restraint since I was 17. That was when I decided I couldn't keep giving in to her every whim. Resisting was hard at first but going away to college helped with that immensely."

Sam noticed that Alex had ordered another beer but also 2 shots of whiskey. She downed the first pretty quickly. Before Sam could say anything, Alex started talking again.

"J'onn is more than a father figure. At least to me. It's hard to describe what exactly J'onn is to me. He became the father I needed when mine was taken by CADMUS. But is also my boss. Well had been my boss for 7 years."

"Sorry about your dad. Being taken by Lena's mom must mean your dad is a scientist, engineer, or something of that nature."

Alex gave Sam a sad smile then took her remaining shot of whiskey. "Both actually. We had gotten him back briefly last year but turns out it was a set up. The ultimate betrayal for J'onn and I."

Without asking another shot of whiskey appeared in front of Alex. She smiled at the bartender. Sam noticed it was an appreciative smile something that said this isn't the first time she has been to this bar and talked about heavy topics.

"Was the betrayal personal or did it have something to do with your job? I can tell this is a deep subject and if you don't want to share this with a complete stranger I understand."

Alex looked at Sam then back at their group. She hadn't talked about Jeremiah in almost a year. She has no idea why she started telling Sam, a woman she barely knows, about her dad. She turned to look at Sam and there was something she saw in her that made her feel safe. She decided to give her the short version. God knows she would gladly sit here and tell her the full story, but it would be rude of Alex to monopolize Sam the entire evening.

"The short version is, both. Before my dad was taken by Lillian he had worked with J'onn at the FBI. When he came back J'onn and I both were blindly trusting that he had truly run away from them after 14 years. But it was all a lie. He was only there to steal something from us that Lillian desperately wanted."

Sam listened and tried to keep her face neutral but when Alex mentioned that she was an FBI agent it was hard to keep a straight face. "I can see how that would be the ultimate betrayal. Lillian is a total nut job who is blinded by her hatred. I've known Lena since middle school and Lillian has never been the warmest person but has always been driven by her passions."

Alex simply nodded she did admire Lillian for that. She found herself gazing at Sam not caring that Sam knew she was doing it. God she was beautiful, and she seemed nice. Alex wanted to forget about her friends for the rest of the night and take Sam away so they could talk. Get to know each other better but that would have to happen another day.

Alex tilted her head toward the booth, "We should probably get back to them. Wouldn't want them thinking I was monopolizing you the entire time." Without thinking Alex winked at Sam

Sam smiled, grabbed the drinks Alex couldn't carry, "No we wouldn't want that Agent Danvers." Responding with a wink of her own.

Alex just watched Sam walk away. She found herself starring at Sam's ass and those incredibly long legs. She shook her head and made her way back to the booth. She set the drinks down and slid in next to Sam. Before she knew what, she was doing she leaned into Sam and whispered, "It's Director Danvers." She leaned back and took a sip of her beer. She watched as that information sunk in.

"My mistake Director." Sam noticed the twinkle in Alex's eyes when she called her Director. She also noticed the smile that spread across J'onn's lips. There was no mistaking it as anything but the smile of a proud father.


	2. Chapter 2

The night continued with Sam learning so much about Lena's found family. Because friends definitely wasn't the term Sam would use when describing this group of people. J'onn was right they were definitely a family. As much as she wanted to get to know all of them Alex was the only person she really had an interest in. More than once she let her eyes wander to the red headed beauty that was beside her.

More than once she caught Kara catching her looking at her sister. Kara didn't look defensive toward Sam. If anything, she looked happy that Sam was looking at her sister. That had to mean something. But like the conversation with Alex about her father being taken by Lena's mother that was for another night.

James and Winn left an hour after J'onn arrived. Claiming they both had early mornings. Sam didn't believe them for a second. But it was none of her business what they were doing. J'onn also excused himself and Sam wondered if it had anything to do with Winn and James.

That left it to just Sam, Lena, Kara and Alex. As much as she had enjoyed the boys she was glad it was just the girls now. She felt like she could talk more freely. She knew Kara and Lena had been friends for a long time now and that Lena had feelings for her. Alex and Lena had only recently become friends. Which now that she thought about it was a bit confusing. Alex had said that she was the director of the FBI. She remembered Lena saying a few months ago that Alex was a bioengineer. Of course, a bioengineer could work for the FBI but she was still confused.

She was about to say something to Alex about it when she saw a hand waving in front of her face.

"Earth to Sam."

"What? Sorry I spaced out for a second. Actually, hold on a second." Sam turned her whole body toward Alex and looked at her so intensely she saw a look of shock pass across her face but was quickly replaced with another softer quizzical look. "You mentioned earlier that you weren't an agent but a director. When you and Lena became friends a few months ago she mentioned you being a bioengineer I need and explanation."

Alex had too much to drink and really shouldn't have told Sam she was the director of the FBI. That really didn't make sense. She should have just stuck with being an agent. But again she had too much to drink and luckily was still on the right side of tipsy she was trying to impress Sam. Of, course Lena would have told Sam that she was working with a bioengineer. Lena would have given Sam enough information about her closest friends so that Sam didn't walk into tonight completely blind. Lena was thoughtful like that. Alex talking about her dad tipsy or not was all her tripping over her own feet because of a pretty girl. Word vomiting had become a staple of hers around pretty girls now.

Alex turned away from Sam and gave Lena a look. Lena looked away from Alex, took a rather large gulp of her wine. Sam wasn't drunk, but Alex could tell that she was a little tipsy and had lost some of her inhabitations. Not just because of the alcohol she had been consuming but also because Winn, James and J'onn had left.

Alex could easily give her an explanation. But Sam had just given her the perfect opportunity for some one on one time with her. "Sam let's leave that story for another night. Maybe when it's just the two of us."

Sam smiled at that, "It's a date. But seriously though you work for the FBI and are also a bioengineer?"

Alex just shrugged, "I do and I am. Seriously I'll take you out to dinner or lunch or whatever and tell you all about it. It is a rather long tale that doesn't deserve to be shortened." Alex gave Sam a mischievous grin and Sam gave her a radiant smile in return. Alex knew the alcohol was starting to affect her. She was very obviously flirting with Sam in front of her best friend and her own sister. Honestly it didn't bother her. This felt nice. Even though she has only known Sam for a few hours there is something about her that seems familiar and Alex finds some comfort in that.

"What is your schedule like next Friday?" Alex asked without hesitation.

Sam's eyebrows knitted together, and a frown appeared. Alex first thought was that Sam wasn't available that day but Sam spoke before Alex could say anything. "I've got work the entire day and assuming the acquisition Lena and I will be trying to make in the afternoon goes as planned I'll be free by 5."

Alex took her phone out of her back pocket and handed it to Sam, "Put your number in my contacts and I'll text you about details in a few days."

Sam punched in her number and handed Alex her phone back. "If you wouldn't mind I need to use the restroom." Sam made a motion for Alex to slide out and Alex did as she was asked. When Alex slid back in next to Lena she was surprised at the looks on Lena and Kara's faces.

She took a sip of her now warm beer, "What?" She looked between the two of them and only shrugs her shoulders. Kara looks on the verge of exploding from happiness and also murdering her. "You told Sam you're a director for the FBI!?"

"I know I messed up, but you know what happens when I'm around beautiful women. I stutter like an idiot and look insanely stupid or I can't keep my mouth shut and word vomit everywhere. Yes, I know I'm the Director of the DEO and I've had training but have you seen Sam?"

Lena hadn't exactly planned on this happening but now that it had she wasn't entirely mad at it. She had thought that Alex and Sam might get along, but she hadn't expected this to happen. At least not this quickly. She was going to attempt to set them up after Sam had gotten herself settled in National City, but now she wouldn't have to she could sit back and watch the show. As Sam's best friend she did need to make sure Alex knew what would happen if Sam got hurt in anyway shape or form.

"I want to go into protective best friend mode but knowing you and Sam I can't find it in me to try and stop this. Plus, I think you will be good for each other. But I have known Sam longer than you and as much as I like your company Alex I will side with Sam if this ends badly." Lena punctuated that last statement with the famous Luther stare. She saw Alex flinch a little before she gave her a smirk and took a sip of her wine.

"I don't even know what this is yet Lena, but I'll keep that in mind."

Sam shut the door behind her and locked it. Thankful that this bar had a single person bathroom with a lock. She walked over to the sink, turned on the faucet and let the water run. She put both hands on the counter and leaned heavily toward the mirror but kept her eyes on the running water. When she finally looked up she muttered at herself in the mirror, "What are you doing Arias?"

She splashed cold water on her face and let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. This isn't something she had expected to happen tonight. But she wasn't upset by it at all. She had never dated before because she was afraid of Ruby becoming attached to someone only to have them leave because something didn't work out.

But she found herself thinking that this was worth a shot. Alex seemed different than anyone that had asked her out before. For starters she wasn't taken aback when she had mentioned being a single mom. That spoke volumes, but she was getting ahead of herself. This might not be a date, date. It could merely be Alex just wanting to talk. She had noticed the sad and slightly lonely look in Alex's eyes when she was talking about her dad. Maybe Alex just needed a friend.

She stepped out of the bathroom and started making her way back to the booth when she decided to head to the bar instead. She took a seat and the bar tender handed her a shot of whiskey without asking for one. She turned to face the bartender, "Are you a mind reader?"

M'gann laughed, "No just really good at reading body language."

Sam just nodded her head and downed the shot. M'gann gave her another and a glass of water. "Look I know you and Alex just met but take things slow. She made the mistake of going to quickly the last time and it hit her hard when her last relationship ended. I'm friends with her ex but grew fond of Alex and only want the best for her."

"So that's why you handed her the third shot of whiskey with no questions asked earlier."

M'gann gave Sam a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah her break up with Maggie is still keeping her from being happy. She doesn't come here much anymore because it was Maggie's bar first and the few times she does it's with friends. I can always tell when the memories of the good times she had here get to her. You have come in and turned her world upside down and at that time she had only known you for an hour. She likes you and I can tell you like her as well. I don't know where things will go with you and Alex but if you do become romantically involved just know that her heart will be hard to get to. Not that either of you are at that point yet, you just met and I get that. But I have a feeling the two of you have something to build on. Something that could become what both of you need."

Sam couldn't form words. This bartender was well versed in body language and seemed to care about Alex a great deal. Even though she was friends with Alex's ex Maggie. Alex was someone that quite a few people cared about, and Sam knew that if anything developed between them and she hurt her she would be a dead woman.

That thought should have scared her but instead gave her a new appreciation for Alex. She downed the shot before she responded to the bartender, "I'm not entirely sure what Alex and I are yet but I can promise you, hurting her is the last thing I want to do. I could see it in her eyes earlier, she's been through so much already. I couldn't bear to bring her anymore pain in an already painful life she has lived."

Without waiting for M'gann to respond she grabbed the glass of water and walked back to the booth. The three women were discussing something that Sam couldn't make out from afar. She slid in next to Alex and was struck by the smile she gave her.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing much just Alex telling us about an incident with Winn and one of her new agents."

Sam gave Alex a questioning look, "I know Lena doesn't work for the FBI and apparently J'onn doesn't anymore but Winn? How did that happen?"

"Well Winn used to work at CatCo with Kara and James but after he got dragged into a case with us unexpectedly we realized how useful he was. He is the best IT guy we've ever had."

Sam recalled something she thought she heard Winn say earlier and she needed to know if it was true. "Earlier when we were talking about Kara's famous pout I heard Winn mutter something about Alex and torturing with an index finger. Either of you care to explain that?"

Sam's tone wasn't accusatory more playful than anything. Alex noticed Lena's face was mixed with confusion and wonderment. Alex was about to explain but Kara started talking before she had a chance.

"Sam the thing is my sister can be very intimidating. When she is at work. Times like this she's a big old softy. But I too would like an answer to that question Alex. Torturing people with your index finger what does that even mean?"

Alex noticed that she had three pairs of eyes on her. But she noticed Sam's curiosity the most. "Winn was keeping information from me, so I may have told him I know how to torture him six different ways with my index finger. Which I do but would never do that to the man. You gotta threaten him and James every now and again to keep them in check."

"Alex, I have found that I now have a whole new appreciation for you."

Alex clinked her bottle with Lena's glass. "There is still so much you don't know about me Luthor. Oh hey, I think I may have figured out a solution to the problem of the chemical incompatibility of the Harun-El to the solution your using to try and replicate its chemical compound. Also, we need to discuss the device you are fabricating for Supergirl to protect her against kryptonite. Oh, you know I just thought of something. Have you tried mixing kryptonite and the harun-el? It could very well be the solution to kryptonite."

"I hadn't thought of that. I will need to get the complete breakdown of the harun-el and kryptonite before we attempt a kryptonite antidote as your suggesting. The wrong combination of ingredients could result in me hurting Supergirl. Possibly beyond repair."

Alex stole a quick glance at her sister and noticed she didn't look as worried as she would have expected. They definitely need to discuss this more when it was the two of them. Alex and Lena had been working together closely for the last 4 months to discover a way to replicate the harun-el and find a way to keep Kara from suffering the effects of kryptonite.

"You two are such nerds."

Alex turned to look at Sam and shrugged. She had again probably said more than she should have around Sam, but she hadn't given out the identity of Supergirl and it was a known fact that Supergirl worked with certain government agencies, so she hadn't really reviled anything. Other than she and Lena knew Supergirl, but Sam was Lena's best friend she probably knew more about Supergirl than any civilian should.

"We really are but you should see Lena in the lab she turns into a giddy little school girl when something works better than expected." She reached for the glass of water that Sam had brought from the bar. Taking a sip before placing it back in front of Sam. She caught Sam starring at her with a shocked look on her face. She just smiled sheepishly in response.

"Sorry old habit from when my ex and I would come here. We always shared a glass of water toward the end. I did it without thinking."

"No, it's ok. Just took me by surprise is all." Sam looked at Lena and saw the goofy grin forming on her friends face. Sam had never seen Lena look so happy. For her. Because that was the look Lena was giving her. Almost as if she approved of the possibility of her and Alex. Sam was going to say something to Lena, but she mentioned needing to head out because of an early meeting tomorrow. Even though Sam knew she didn't have an early meeting tomorrow.

Which left Sam and Alex alone because Kara left with Lena. Which left Alex with an interesting look on her face. Did she know about Lena liking her sister? Probably not given Alex's facial expression or maybe she did and was just surprised to see them leaving together hand in hand. With Kara leaning heavily into Lena.

"God when is my sister going to admit she has feelings for Lena. It's been almost 2 years. I know Lena has had a thing for her for a while now. But Kara is completely oblivious to her feelings."

"Well I can confirm that Lena does in fact have it bad for Kara. I know they had a falling out a few months ago but you wouldn't be able to tell with them interacting tonight."

"Yeah that was a rough two months." Alex started picking at the label on her beer bottle. Lena had tried to act like she didn't know Kara Danvers and Supergirl were the same person. It had lasted a week. Lena had called Kara out on being Supergirl and took it as a personal attack at her character that Kara couldn't trust her with her true identity.

"I had to force them to talk. Three hours and many tears later they reconciled their differences. Working with your sister's best friend when they are fighting is the worst."

Sam downed what was left of her water, "I wouldn't know. Only child."

"I was too until my parents adopted Kara. The first two years were rough but now I wouldn't trade having Kara as my sister for anything in this universe."

"Wow the whole universe you really do love her." Alex just responded with a closed lipped smile, but it went all the way to her eyes which were sparkling.

Alex glanced at her phone. It was getting close to 1 AM and she had to work tomorrow. Thankfully she didn't have to be in until 9AM. "It's getting late we should probably go."

Sam looked at her watch, "Wow didn't realize how late it was."

"Me either, I'll walk you to your car." Alex slid out of the booth and waited for Sam to do the same. She gave M'gann a wave has they walked toward the door. As they approached Sam's SUV Alex found herself disappointed that she wouldn't see Sam again until next Friday.

"I had a good time tonight. Hopefully we didn't overwhelm you with our crazy antics. Well mostly Winn and Kara."

Sam laughed, "Yeah I noticed Winn and Kara are easily excitable but in an endearing way. I had a good time as well. It was nice meeting you."

"Same. I'll see you next Friday?"

She couldn't wait for Friday, but she also couldn't wait that long to see Alex again. "Of course! I'm anxious to hear how a bioengineer came to work for the FBI but I was thinking. Ruby, my daughter will be going to a day camp all next week and was wondering if one morning after I drop her off you would want to grab breakfast with me?"

Sam wanted to get breakfast. Alex hid her excitement. "Absolutely. Tuesday morning I'm free assuming something major doesn't come up. Tell me what time and where and I'll be there."

"There is a little café a block south from L-Corp called Dillon's meet me there at 8AM."

"Dillon's at 8AM on Tuesday. Got it. Goodnight Sam."

"Goodnight Alex."

Sam shut the door of her SUV and breathed in deeply, held it for a few seconds and let it out slowly. Tonight had been very unexpected. She had very obviously been flirting with Alex and Alex had flirted back. She had no idea when she first laid eyes on Alex in the parking lot that she would have ended up with plans to see her again next week. One thing she wasn't sure of is if either of those days counted at dates? Sam just shook her head and left the parking lot. She would cross that bridge when she came to it.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Tuesday and Sam was running a bit late. She walked into the café and didn't see Alex. Something must have come up. She would give her a few minutes before she sent the other woman a text. Five minutes passed and just as she was about to grab her phone Alex walked in. Wearing a black suit that she guessed was what she wore out in the field because it definitely resembled armor. She was also wearing a look of frustration something must have happened.

"Sorry I'm late and sorry for the way I'm dressed. Normally wouldn't wear my tactical gear on a date but one of my agents made more than a few dumb decisions out in the field and I had to rush in and back up the team."

Sam smiled when she heard Alex call this a date. She had never mentioned this being a date. But that was exactly what this was a date and Sam couldn't be happier. "It's ok Alex and the tactical gear doesn't bother me. We might get some curious looks from people, but I'm used to that being a very young single mother."

"I can imagine. You said you got pregnant when you were 17?"

Sam bit her bottom lip, "Well pregnant at 16 but I gave birth to my daughter when I was 17. It didn't help that my mom kicked me out after I refused to get an abortion."

Alex's eyebrows shot up, "Wait you've been raising Ruby all by yourself since you were 17?"

Sam gave Alex an amused smile and nodded her head, "Yeah it definitely hasn't been easy. The first four years were the toughest, but we survived."

Alex was impressed. She wanted kids one day and has been considering doing it alone and knows it would be hard, but she can't imagine having to it alone at 17. She got out of her chair and motioned for Sam to do the same. "Let's go order and then head out to the patio. It's a nice day out and considering we're both probably going to be stuck inside for most of the day we should enjoy it while we can."

Sam couldn't argue with that. With coffee's in hand they went to the patio and sat on the far end. It was indeed a nice day out. Not unbearably hot like it had been days before. A gentle breeze was blowing.

"This was a good idea. I have phone calls and meetings all day might not even get a chance to grab lunch or at least something that could pass for a meal."

So, Sam, Lena and Alex had a similar one-track mind. Get so focused on one thing that more time passes than you realize and you've forgotten to eat.

"I know all about that. Lena and I were in the lab for 10 hours one day and hadn't eaten a thing. Kara had to force us both to leave so we would eat something. How long have you known Lena I know you said the other night that you had known her since middle school."

Sam was very surprised with the personal details Alex had remembered. But then again, the last date she went on was 7 years ago and that guy had no interest in her just the body beneath the clothes.

"I've known Lena for 16 years. She was the only one who stayed by my side when I was pregnant. She was always offering me money, but I refused every time. I was the one who had gotten pregnant and decided to keep the baby. I needed to do everything on my own. Taking Lena's money would have meant we wouldn't have slept in my car for 4 months when Ruby was 2 but doing things on my own terms taught me a lot."

Alex knew there was something different about Sam when she had started talking about Jeremiah in the bar. Sam fell under the category of strong and independent. Her determination to raise her daughter under her own terms was something Alex admired and gave her a whole new level of respect for Sam.

"Lena doesn't know that you lived in your car, does she?"

Sam looked at her sheepishly, "No that was while she was in college. I never plan on telling her either."

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me. How old is Ruby?"

"She'll be 13 next month. I have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like it was just yesterday I was sending her to her first day of kindergarten. I've been lucky with her so far. Very good kid, has stayed out of trouble, gets good grades but she's going to become a teenager. I'm hoping she holds on to all of that and doesn't turn into an angsty, I hate everything about my life teen."

"I wouldn't know anything about that. I was a total nerd. Always had my nose in textbooks. Things got a little rocky during Kara's second year with us. She had finally gotten comfortable with our family and we started fighting like typical teens. Then we did something stupid that resulted in us discovering something about the sheriff and we both almost died. Got the sheriff arrested in the end and things have been good between us ever since."

Sam quirked her eyebrows up in surprise. She was about to say something when the server arrived with their food. Sam and Alex both thanked him. Sam took a bite of her omelet before speaking to Alex, "Lena wasn't kidding when she said you and your sister live very interesting lives. When you mentioned the FBI, I figured that was what she had been referring to. But it sounds like it's just how your life is. Making me have second thoughts about you."

Alex caught the playful tone in Sam's voice, "What were your first thoughts?"

Alex's voice had dropped. It sent a shiver through Sam, "Well when you took your helmet off in the parking lot I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Then I got to know a bit about you. See you smile, hear you laugh and that twinkle that you get in your eye. I knew I wanted to get lost in those eyes sometime. If you would let me." Sam reached for Alex's hand that was resting on the table. She looked into those warm, beautiful hazel eyes. The twinkle definitely wasn't there now but a slow building fire. She may have just moved things too far too fast.

So much for taking things slow. With Sam saying things like that Alex wasn't sure if she could restrain herself but she had to. She was falling for this woman. She owed it to herself and Sam to take this slow. Alex was about to say something when Sam spoke.

"That was too much. I have no idea where that came from."

Sam went to move her hand, but Alex kept a firm grip on it, "Sam we both know where that came from. To be fair I did ask you what you thought of me and I have been flirting with you since we met so…"

"Plus, your suit isn't helping."

Alex laughed, "You like my suite, do you?" She watched as Sam nodded. "Winn made it."

Sam almost dropped her fork, "Wait the same Winn I met the other night?"

"The one and the same. When I was a full-time field agent we wore heavier, bulkier body armor and Winn likes to solve problems. Doesn't matter what kind. We were working on a particularly tough case and the body armor being as bulky as it was made things a bit more difficult than it needed to be. He has redesigned all the armor for our branch of the FBI. But this suit. This suit is one of a kind he made it just for me. Said I deserved to have my own special suit. Especially since I would occasionally make some rash decisions and end up wounded."

"But as the Director you don't do much field work anymore?"

"No but I'm ok with that. My life started going down a different path last year. Being able to stay out of the field allows me to do more lab work which I had missed more than I knew."

Sam noticed the look that came across Alex's face when she mentioned her life going down a different path. She looked both sad and hopeful. She guessed it had to do with her ex Maggie. But she wasn't going to pry. "I can't wait to hear this tantalizing tale of how Alex Danvers a bioengineer became an agent, then Director for the FBI."

Alex grimaced, still regretted her word vomiting from that night. There wasn't anything she could do about it now. "Not sure why I thought that was a good idea. I barely knew you, still barely know you and I set up a date with you to talk about my not so pretty past. That's deep stuff to talk about in general let alone on what may very well be a second date."

"Well when I walked over to the bar I wasn't expecting to find you downing shots of whiskey. It probably didn't help that I asked about J'onn being a father figure."

Alex finished the last bite of her omelet and gently pushed her plate forward, "Yeah I actually didn't order the whiskey. I never order the whisky. I also very rarely go to that bar anymore. It brings up too many memories of my ex Maggie. M'gann always gives them to me knows it helps dull the pain. It's gotten easier but M'gann picked up on my uneasiness and maybe some of the panic I was feeling when I walked toward the bar. Only reason I went into as many details about my dad was because you made me feel like it was safe to talk to you."

"I get that a lot. Just so you know you can always talk to me about anything."

"I appreciate that. Like Lena, I don't have many friends, so I usually just talk to Kara about things but at some point, talking to your sister just doesn't help. Lena has been good for some of it, but she doesn't know anything about my past. Just what she has been around for."

"Sounds like I have a lot to learn about you and honestly I am looking forward to it."

Alex wasn't sure where this was going but she found she shared Sam's sentiment she couldn't wait to learn everything she could about her and if things progressed well she couldn't wait to meet her daughter. Ruby sounded like an amazing kid. Alex was just about to tell Sam all this, but her phone rang. Shit it was the president she couldn't ignore this.

"I really wish I didn't have to take this but it's the president and she'll only keep calling if I ignore her." Alex got out of her chair and walked over to Sam and kissed her cheek, "I'll text you later."

And with that Alex was walking off the patio toward the street and Sam was left holding her hand to the cheek Alex had left a chaste kiss on and wondering how Alex Danvers had taken a hold of her heart so quickly.

She had about 10 minutes to spare before she and Lena had to head to the shareholder meeting. They spent all of last night prepping for it because of Sam's date with Alex that morning. She suspected that Lena was on board for her and Alex to become something more and was doing anything she could to help. She walked into Lena's new office, so they could chat about Alex. Because she needed to talk about Alex to someone before this meeting started or she wouldn't be able to think straight.

Lena looked up from the report she was typing up for Alex on her newest findings to see Sam. "How was your breakfast date with Alex?"

"It was great. I may have been a bit over the top with my flirting at one point, but she didn't mind."

Lena gave Sam a smirk, "You both have it bad for each other. Sam I will always be on your side, but I just want you to know that Alex is still a little fragile at the moment. It's not my story to tell so I won't go into details, but she ended a relationship with the love of her life last year because they didn't see eye to eye on some things. The biggest thing that ended the relationship was that they moved to fast. I honestly think you two would make a great couple and I know your top priority will always be Ruby but if you and Alex pursue this I just want you to take it slow. For Alex's sake and yours and Ruby's. You haven't had a serious relationship since Scott. And he ran the minute he found out you were pregnant, so I wouldn't necessarily count that as serious. Also, that was in high school relationships are never serious in high school."

Sam took in the words Lena was saying. She had every intention of taking things as slow as she could with Alex. She owed it to herself and Ruby. With this new information about Alex she knew she owed it to her as well.

"I know I need to take things slow. But Alex is different Lena and it sounds like you know it. I really wish I could pin exactly what it is about her that has me falling for her hard and fast. I mean it could be because I haven't been on a date in 7 year's but Alex is different. I don't know what this is yet but I'm excited by the prospect of getting to know her better. I haven't been this excited about dating someone since that one guy whose name I can't even remember."

Lena smiled fondly at Sam. She was right about Alex being different. If Alex hung out at any of the gay clubs in town she would definitely be at the top of the list of most eligible lesbians. She was gorgeous and had mysteriousness about her. Once you got to know her you would discover that she was fiercely protective of those she loved, the poster child for loyalty and was one gigantic softy with a heart of gold.

Aside from the phone call from the president the rest of Alex's morning went smoothly. Luckily the president was just checking to make sure everyone was ok. She had gotten word that a few agents made some dumb choices that could have left some serious consequences. Alex reassured her that she had handled the matter personally to make sure nothing escalated any further. No crazy alien encounters for the rest of the morning. Just light lab work and catching up on paperwork. She needed a break from the paperwork and it was almost lunch time anyway. Things had gone well with Sam this morning and she really wanted to see her again. She knew she needed to take things slow. But she could always use bringing Sam and Lena lunch as an excuse.

She knew from their date this morning that Sam was going to be busy and wouldn't have time to really eat anything so maybe she should just leave it be. But she found herself calling Lena as she walked out of the building.

 **Alex what a pleasant surprise. What do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?**

 **Well I was wondering if you knew if Sam had any free time in her schedule today. I know she said it was a full day of meetings and phone calls but she has to take time to eat right?**

Lena chuckled. Alex had it bad for Sam. **She'll have at least 45 minutes free at 12:30 one of the meetings had to be moved to Wednesday so that freed up some of her time. To play it safe you better bring food here. Bring her anything but a salad. She hates salads.**

 **Thanks Lena.** Alex ended the call and made her way to her favorite food truck. She got three orders of noodles. She knew Lena wouldn't stop for lunch of her own accord, so she would drop off Lena's favorite soba noodles before going to see Sam.

She walked into L-Corp and waived the badge Lena had given her in front of the sensor and made her way toward the elevators. She got in and pressed the button for the top floor. She exited the elevator and made her way over to Jess's desk. Lena's secretary looked up and smiled at Alex.

"Alex what brings you by L-Corp today?"

Alex held up the bag of food. "Lunch. Um I don't know which office Sam is occupying so if you could point me in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it."

Jess looked at Alex a little confused. She had no idea that Alex knew Sam well enough to be stopping by to see her yet. Lena did mention that Alex and Sam had hit it off when they all went out the other night. But that was none of her business. "Sam has actually taken Lena's office. Since Lena won't be needing it soon. Lena had her go ahead and take it now. Sam is finishing up a phone call, but she should be done in 5 minutes."

"Oh that works out perfectly actually. I brought Lena something to. I know she has a lot on her plate today. Between the meetings she has to take with Sam and the lab work she's doing I know she won't stop to eat so I brought her something as well. Is she in the lab?"

Jess smiled. Alex and Kara were very thoughtful people. Each in their own way but both Danvers sisters knew that Lena didn't eat when she was busy. Jess knew Alex was the same from the few times Kara had to drag her and Lena from the lab, so they would go eat. "Yes, she's in the lab. You came by at a good time she's got something she wants to show you."

"Ok thanks Jess." Alex walked behind Jess's desk put her thumb on the exact spot on the wall Lena had shown her. A green light illuminated just above her thumb and an almost invisible door opened up. Alex stepped in and saw Lena hunched over a microscope. She sauntered over to Lena, "See anything interesting?"

Lena looked up from the microscope with a start then her face softened when she saw that it was Alex. "I thought you were bringing lunch to Sam."

"Oh I am. But I knew you wouldn't stop to eat if someone didn't bring you actual food so here you go."

Lena took the container and opened it. Her favorite soba noodles. "Alex Danvers you really do know the way to a girls heart." Lena saw Alex's cheeks slowly turn crimson. "Speaking of girls, you have it bad for Sam."

Alex could only sigh. She ran a hand through her hair, "Yeah Lena I do. I don't know how this happened. I mean I offered a date to the woman to talk about a very dark time in my life after having only known her for a few hours."

Lena nodded and gave Alex a knowing smile, "She has a calming effect on people and has a thing for the underdog. I never made friends in school before because my last name was Luthor. When Sam and I became friends in middle school that was when Lex started to go south but even before then the Luthor name had never been well received. Sam made it a point to seek me out and talk to me because she sensed I needed a friend. She also has a weakness for beautiful women."

Alex felt the blush creep across her cheeks and could even feel it in the tips of her ears. "I get the calming effect. Safe is the word I would use to describe how Sam makes me feel. Lena, I haven't talked about my dad and the time he betrayed us to steal the alien registry in over a year. That's what Sam and I were talking about at the bar. I could have stayed there with her and talked all night, but I felt bad because you had invited all of us out to get to know Sam. The only friend you have other than Kara and now me I guess. I didn't want to monopolize her the entire evening."

"I approve of you and Sam pursuing a relationship, but I will warn you, she hasn't been on a date since Ruby was six and Ruby will always be her top priority. If this does go somewhere and you hurt her or Ruby I will make sure you never see the light of day again Danvers. As much fun as this conversation had been I do believe you have a lady to impress."

"Right I do." Alex was turning to leave when she stopped herself, "Jess said you had something that you couldn't wait to show me?"

"While this is true Sam should have gotten off of her phone call a few minutes ago and I want you to spend as much time with her as possible, so it can definitely wait until our next scheduled meeting."

With a nod of her head and a goofy grin plastered across her face Alex left Lena's lab. She walked up to Sam's office door and knocked gently before opening the door. Sam was at her desk typing away. She looked up briefly to see who was peeking through her door. She went back to typing it was a few seconds before she fully registered who was entering her office. But once she noticed she couldn't hide the smile that formed.

"Alex what are you doing here?"

Alex smiled sheepishly, "You said you would be busy all day and might not have time to eat anything you could consider a real meal. I thought bringing you lunch would be a nice touch to a busy day."

Just when she thought Alex couldn't be any more perfect. Breakfast with her this morning and lunch with her this afternoon she didn't know what she did to deserve this. "You came at the perfect time. One of my meetings had to be rescheduled so if you don't have to get back to work right away stay and eat with me?"

"Of course. I actually called Lena before coming over. I didn't want to catch you at a bad time. I mean if I had come over unannounced and you were busy I would have left the food with Jess to give to you, but I definitely wanted to see you."

Sam stood up from her desk and made her way toward the couch. "So, the morning has been uneventful after that incident before breakfast?"

Alex sat on the end of the couch closest to the door and handed Sam her food. "Yeah very quiet. I was catching up on some paperwork when I realized I needed a break I remembered your comment from this morning and figured I could bring you lunch. Make sure that you get a decent meal instead of whatever you probably would have eaten."

"The food is very much appreciated. How did the call go with the president?"

Alex took a bite of her noodles, "It was good she was just checking on the incident from this morning."

"So, when you said some agents made some dumb discussions I didn't think it was bad that the president would hear about it. Actually, didn't even know you talked to the president regularly. But I guess that makes sense."

"I wouldn't say regularly but at least a few times a month. More if we have any incidents similar to the one that happened this morning. I had to indefinitely suspend 2 agents from the field, write up that team's leader and when I get back I have to finish writing up a report on the incident, send that and an estimate on the cost of damages to the president. It's on days like this I miss just being an agent. Not as much paperwork."

Sam groaned in agreement, "That is the one thing about this job I can never get away from. But days that I only have to look at reports, type up reports and respond to emails are a welcome relief. When I get home today I'm going to be completely drained and won't want to talk to anybody but that won't be possible until Ruby goes to bed."

It was the truth. She loved her daughter and talking to her about her day was something she enjoyed. After dealing with so many pompous pricks silence would be a welcome relief to the stress the day had brought. She and Alex finished eating talking about various different things. It was easy to get lost in conversation with her.

Sam walked with Alex toward her door. Sam leaned against the door frame after Alex had exited her office, "Thanks for lunch and the company. Gave me a boost to get through the rest of these meetings and calls."

"Anytime Sam." Alex really wanted to kiss her but knew that now wasn't the time. She had impulsively kissed her on the cheek this morning. That hadn't elicited a bad reaction but kissing her on the lips was definitely out of the question right now. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need a break from the crazy men and meetings." She leaned in and placed another kiss on her cheek and turned and walked away.

Sam watched Alex walk away. Having gotten another kiss on the cheek from the woman. The lips would have been better, but it was too soon for that. She had changed into a dark grey henley and skinny jeans. Sam hated that Alex was walking away from her but at least she got to look at her ass. When Alex got to the elevator she turned to look at Sam one last time gave her one of those killer smiles and a wave. Sam smiled and gave a wave in return. She pushed off the door and went back into her office to prepare for her next meeting.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the week went by uneventful for Sam. Just the typical phone calls, meetings, emails and reports. She did pass some of the time between all of that texting Alex. It would always take Alex awhile to answer which Sam figured was because the other woman was just as busy as she was. Friday as Sam was walking back from one of the conference rooms she saw Alex walking behind Jess's desk, place her thumb on the wall and walk through a hidden door. Alex must be here to do some work with Lena.

Sam knew that was Lena's hidden lab where all of her top-secret projects were kept. Mostly the work she and Alex were doing on ways to help Supergirl fight against kryptonite and whatever else they were working on. She shouldn't have been surprised that Alex knew the girl of steel. I mean working for the FBI in the very city that Supergirl protects Alex has probably worked with her on more than one occasion.

The fact that Alex and Lena both wanted to help the girl of steel warmed Sam's heart. The hero was bullet proof but not immune to everything. From various different conversations with Lena, Sam knew that Lex had developed a synthetic form of kryptonite. It had never been as deadly to Superman as the real deal, but it still did it's damage. If Lex could create the stuff, then she knew Lena would figure out a way to make something that would counter its effects on the Kryptonian hero's.

She couldn't help but be a little jealous of Lena right now. What she wouldn't give to see Alex right now. She would be spending a majority of the night with her, but she hadn't seen the woman since lunch on Tuesday and missed her.

Alex walked into Lena's lab to find her looking through a microscope just like she was on Tuesday. After spending 4 months working with Lena Alex looked forward to their Friday's in the lab. This was the best part of J'onn stepping down and making her the Director of the DEO. She actually got to do more in the lab. The work she was doing with Lena was the most fun out of any of it also, the most fascinating. Most of her DEO work was running DNA samples and looking at alien virus and bacteria strains. Which was fascinating, but something she has done for years.

Because of the work she was doing with Lena she had gained access to Lex's reports and some of the various gadgets he had come up with to wipe out Clark. As much as she hated Lex and what he stood for the scientist and bioengineer in her was impressed.

"How is the analysis of the harun-el going?" Alex placed her bag at her work station and made her way over to Lena.

Lena looked up from her microscope long enough to give her a tight smile, then went back to looking at the current sample she had on the slide. "This substance is the most complex thing I have ever studied. God, what I wouldn't give to be able to go to krypton and study with their scientist. I know Alex if it hadn't exploded we wouldn't be in the current situation we're in but being able to do that would make this so much easier."

Alex knew how Lena felt then it hit her, "We can't go to krypton, but you could ask Kara to take you to the fortress. There might be something in the archives that might be able to help us."

"The Fortress of Solitude? What makes you think Kara will agree to take me? We're doing much better than we were months ago, but things are still shaky."

Rolling her eyes and giving Lena the famous Alex Danvers smirk, "Your trying to come up with a way to make her immune to the effects of kryptonite I don't think she'll have an issue with taking you to the fortress. Or in the very least get you the information you need. Also, when are you going to woman up and ask Kara out already?"

The smile that spread across Lena's face was there for a fraction of a second before it disappeared with a scowl. "Alex you know as well as I do how oblivious she is to my feelings for her. I know I need to make a move that isn't subtle because subtle isn't working. I also don't think, given our fight months ago, that now is the right time. Maybe in a few months."

Maybe Lena was right they had just gotten back into their old rhythm. "Well don't wait too long. You wait long enough and she may find herself another stupid boy who doesn't deserve her."

"I take it you weren't a fan of Mon-El either?"

"He did eventually become a decent enough person but God he was such a fuck boy in the beginning. The only reason I encouraged Kara in the first place was because she seemed to genuinely like him and she hadn't had a successful relationship ever. I still feel bad for encouraging her. I feel worse for the fact that she did fall in love with him and she had to send him away. I know they never would have lasted but to see my sister heartbroken was the worst."

Lena remembered that time all too well. She hadn't known that Kara was Supergirl, but she knew that Mon-El meant a lot to Kara and she felt bad for altering the device Lex had created to send the Daxamites away. But she never really liked the guy. Always thought Kara could do better.

"Well he is gone now and can't come back so that is a bit of a relief and one less obstacle in my way. I will act on my feelings when the time is right. But speaking of feelings still planning on talking to Sam about your past tonight."

"I honestly don't know Lena. Sam did say on Tuesday that I could talk to her about anything but you and I both know that my past is crazy, and you don't even know about all of it. She got me to talk about my dad and I hadn't talked about him since I let Maggie go. Which lead to me talking about J'onn and my not being an agent anymore. The thing she wants to know most is how I went from being an Agent to a Director. Let's not forget that I shouldn't have even told her that."

Lena had never seen Alex so flustered. "Alex, Sam just wants to get to know you. Take my word for it. I haven't seen you this excited about someone, not even that woman that tried to take you home that one night, and she had you tripping over your words worse than Sam. You out of any of us deserve to be happy Alex. I think Sam could make you happy. I know you still love Maggie and I know a part of you always will. She was your first love, but Sam could be so much more than that for you. Talk about your past or don't that is up to you but I do know she wants to get to know you."

Lena was right she hadn't been this excited about anyone since Maggie. Talking to Sam about her past might not be a good idea but it was a start. God knows she needs to talk to someone about it.

"Wow you look nice."

"You think it's too much?"

"Well that depends. What are you doing tonight?"

Sam hadn't talked about Alex specifically after that night. Just that she had a good time and made some new friends. "Well the thing is one of the women I met last Saturday we hit it off pretty well and I'm going over to her place tonight to talk."

Ruby's eyes widened, "Like a date?" Because if it is a date then I'm more than okay with that."

Sam was surprised by Ruby's statement, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just that if you want to date this woman I'm 100% okay with it. Mom you've been single for as long as I can remember. I think you stayed away from most people because of me. You haven't looked like yourself since you met this woman. What's her name?"

"Alex her name is Alex."

"Is she pretty?"

Sam couldn't hold back her smile, "I've never told you that I'm bisexual I would have thought that would be a shock to you. Instead you're asking me if the woman I like is pretty?"

"It's because you are my mom. You could have told me you were a lesbian and I still wouldn't care. All I care about is that whoever you date makes you happy and treats you like you deserve to be treated."

Sam hugged her daughter and wiped at a couple of tears that fell. "How did you get to be so amazing?"

"Must be in the genes. You didn't answer my question though. Is Alex pretty? Looks don't really matter but it doesn't hurt."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this to my almost 13-year-old daughter but Alex is sexy as hell."

"Ok cool the woman is sexy not that I really know what that means but cool."

Their conversation was interrupted by the doorbell, "That's probably Rachel's mom go grab your stuff and I'll check." Sam walked to the door and opened it to find Rachel and her mom Debbie standing there. "Hey, Ruby is grabbing her things now she should be down in a minute."

Ruby came running down the stairs seconds later, "Hi Mrs. Davenport thanks for letting me come over tonight."

"It's no trouble at all Ruby. Why don't you girls get in the car I want to talk to Sam for a minute."

"Does Ruby have any food allergies or anything I should know?"

"No food allergies and she's a pretty chill kid worst she'll do is talk Rachel's ear off all night. She's been talking about this sleepover for days."

Debbie laughed, "Rachel has been doing the same. Well, have a good night Sam. I'll shoot you a text when the girls are up."

"Sounds good, I'll see you tomorrow." Sam went back inside to grab her bag. The drive to Alex's was going to be torture she couldn't wait to see her again. She had no idea what she was in for tonight, but it would be another piece of Alex Danvers that she got to know and that was exciting.

Alex was nervous about tonight. She hadn't seen Sam since the impromptu lunch date she had instigated. Which may have been a good thing. Gave her some time to think about if she really wanted to tell Sam all the details about her past. Possibly including Maggie minus the break up. Sam had a daughter and she didn't want her to think that she wanted to date her because she had a kid. Because that most definitely wasn't the case. Ever since she had gotten Sam's number they had been texting every day. They had developed an easy banter. The flirting was easy and a bright spot during the day.

Alex kept pacing around her kitchen sipping on her glass of water. Trying to find a reason that would be good enough to cancel on Sam. Because the more she thought about this the more she realized it was a bad idea. She was about to pick up her phone to call Sam when there was a knock on her door. She drained what was left of her water and walked to the door. She let out a heavy sigh before she opened the door. She hadn't been prepared for her breath to be taken away. Sam wasn't wearing anything unusual. Just jeans and a loose fitting, hunter green button up shirt. Her hair was the same way it had been the night they first met in the parking lot of her once favorite bar.

Alex motioned for Sam to come in. She wasn't sure what to say and by the time she had figured it out Sam had spoken, "I wish I could say this isn't exactly what I pictured when I thought about what your place looked like. But I have to say it fits."

Alex worried at her bottom lip. She couldn't keep her eyes on Sam for too long. "Thanks. Kara is the one who actually decorated the place. It was early in my FBI days that I got this place and the only thing I had was the bed. That was the only nice thing I had done for myself after my progress at the bureau. I had been living here for 3 months like that when Kara decided the place needed a more homey feel. I gave her my credit card, and this is what she came up with. I've added and changed some things over the years but Kara gave me a good starting point."

Sam could tell Alex was nervous. It could be because this was the first time anyone other than Kara and Lena had been here since Maggie or it could be why Sam was here in the first place. This could be counted at their 3rd date. Alex had been a little inebriated when she first made this suggestion. At the time she may not have really meant for this to be a date, date. But over the course of this week it had become one. Alex offered her a drink and she decided that whiskey was probably the better option.

She noticed the look of surprise pass across Alex's face when she agreed to the whiskey. Whiskey was the one thing she had always indulged in. She had it at a party in high school and had liked it ever since. When she landed her first real job working for a company in Opal City when she was 22 she had bought herself a top shelf bottle of scotch to celebrate. She still had that bottle it was about half full now. She only drank it to celebrate the important moments in life.

Alex watched as Sam settled into one of the barstools. She could always back out of this conversation. They could always talk about something else. Then she thought back on another evening in her apartment in almost this exact same spot.

" _ **Life is to short and we should be who we are, and we should kiss the girls we want to kiss and I just want to kiss you"**_

Alex knew a part of her would always love Maggie. But she did like Sam. A lot. She thought back on that night that Maggie had shown up to her apartment with pizza and beer and proclaimed her feelings for Alex. It had been the happiest night of her adult life at the time. Now she was taking a page out of Maggie's book. Maggie had taken a leap of faith that night and Alex was sure as hell going to be doing the same tonight.

"It's too early to be telling you all of this. We haven't even known each other for a week. Telling you all about my past shouldn't be something that is discussed on a 3rd date. Because that is definitely what this is. I know I assumed us getting breakfast on Tuesday was a date but we both know that it was. I don't know what possessed me to decide to bring you lunch at L-Corp, but I did.

"I like you and I know you feel the same about me. I know I could come up with something else to talk about tonight. That you would never make me talk about something that I wasn't ready to talk about. But a small part of me knows that talking about my past is the best way for you to decide if I'm worth your time.

"Because my past is…interesting. I do like you Sam. A lot more than I really want to admit. I'm afraid that all of this is going to make you run for the hills. Because my past isn't pretty. But I also feel the need to tell you. So, you can decide for yourself if I'm worth your time. I mean you have a daughter I know you don't want any low life potentially crazy people around her."

Sam had heard enough. She knew Alex's worries were valid. But some of them were also unfounded. The woman was overthinking things way too much. She wasn't sure of the best way to get Alex to stop her nervous rambling because she was pacing at a much faster pace than she thought humanly possible. The next time Alex passed by her she caught her wrist and pulled her in close.

She had wanted to do this all week. The thought of Alex's lips beneath hers was something she had thought about often. The thoughts became worse after she had kissed her cheek. Twice in one day. Sam couldn't hold back any longer. She gently leaned forward and captured Alex's lips between her own. She felt Alex tense at the sudden contact but also felt her melt completely into Sam a few moments later. Sam had thought about what it would be like to kiss Alex Danvers over the last week and she definitely wasn't disappointed. Her lips were soft. They felt like silk against her own. Kissing Alex Danvers was better than she could have imagined.

"I definitely wasn't expecting that."

Sam laughed, "You were rambling and as much as I find your rambling adorable I needed you to stop. That was the best thing I could come up with. We don't have to talk about your past tonight. We can talk about anything else. I want to get to know you Alex Danvers. Whoever you were in your past doesn't concern me. Because you have learned from your mistakes and whoever you were then doesn't exist anymore. Or at least in the sense that your thinking. I like you for who you are. Your past couldn't possibly change that."

Alex grimaced, "It could. You have an almost 13-year-old daughter that I would end up meeting if things went well for us. If I don't tell you about my past you could introduce me to her only to find out later that I'm a bad influence. That's the last thing I want."

The fact that Alex was considering her daughter in her decision to tell Sam about her past spoke volumes to Alex's character. If she hadn't already kissed the woman she would have done it now. "I highly doubt that you're that bad of an influence these days. Like you keep saying it's your past. Alex, I don't think you are anything like your past. I get the feeling that you have learned from it and have come out the other side better for it. The version of you that is standing in front of me is someone I wouldn't hesitate introducing you to Ruby. But if you really don't want to talk about it, it really is ok we can talk about anything else."

Alex was struck by Sam's candor. The fact that Sam said they could talk about anything else other than her past was a comfort. But she knew that tonight was the best time to get all of it out in the open.

"Well I was in school to be a doctor and a bioengineer. I was going to go into the medical research field. Things started to go downhill my first year of grad school, but they came to a head my second year. My mother kept pressuring me about school and getting perfect grades but also about protecting and being there for my sister. Somewhere along the way I found solace in alcohol. I was skipping classes, drinking my life away and sleeping with any guy that I deemed worthy at the club on the weekends.

"One day I got a letter that stated I was no longer a part of the graduate program at Stanford because of my failure to attend classes and turn in my assignments. Instead of putting myself back together and trying to fix things I just left the apartment and went to the closest liquor store and got a bottle of vodka."

Alex had to stop for a minute. She walked away from Sam and started pacing in front of the sink. She had only told one other person this story in her entire life. She and Eliza had talked about this at Maggie's insistence to help mend their relationship and it had helped. But she didn't go into all these details when she had told her mom. If she really thought hard about the night she told Maggie this tale she hadn't gone into all the details either. She stopped pacing, opened up the cabinet to reach for a glass and finally poured herself some whiskey.

She sat next to Sam, turning the barstool slightly so she could face her. She hadn't expected Sam's face to look so understanding but it was. Sam reached for her hand that was resting on her knee and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Alex took a sip of her whiskey before continuing.

"I just drove around for a few hours. Not drinking at first because the rational part of my brain was telling me that was a bad idea. I ended up back in Midvale. I went to the coast. Just sat on the beach for a while and thought about my dad. This part is going to be a bit confusing for you because I told you my dad had been taken by CADMUS."

Sam nodded, "Yes and that Lillian had him betray you and J'onn."

"Right, well the thing is I spent my entire adult life thinking my father was dead. That he had died when I was 15 on a mission gone wrong. My dad was my best friend, he taught me all about the stars, would let me read his old college textbooks and we would spend the weekends discussing everything I had read in them. When they took Kara in all that changed. She had lost everything. Her family and essentially her whole world. She was 13 and it had left its marks. They were doing everything they could to help her through that loss. Turns out I was the only one who could help her in the end.

"Fast forward 12 years and I find out he is alive. I can't tell you how because that is classified but I'm getting ahead of myself anyway. I was sitting on the beach thinking about my dad and knew how much I would be disappointing him and how none of this would have happened if he hadn't died. I got back in my car opened that bottle of vodka took a few sips and drove to National City.

"I went to one of my favorite clubs and danced and drank the night away. A guy that I had told to stay away from me kept coming back and getting handsy. I managed to get rid of him and call it a night. The rational part of my brain was gone at that point. I was attempting to get in my car and drive myself home."

Alex watched the range of emotions going across Sam's face, "I told you my past wasn't pretty. This was me at my absolute lowest."

Sam took a sip of her whiskey. She would have to agree with Alex on that. She can't fathom what Alex had gone through to get her to that point. It was hard thinking that the Alex Danvers that she has gotten to know over the last week was broken to a point of drinking herself to death.

"You know this story isn't helping me like your mom much. Sounds like she was putting too much pressure on you at a very young age and a bit of emotional abuse."

Alex chuckled, "Don't worry Eliza and I have worked through everything. Well almost everything. She can still be overly critical at times, but she is able to recognize when it happens now and apologizes. Three years ago we had gotten into the biggest fight either of us had ever had. We hashed everything out over the next few months. Maggie actually helped Eliza and I become closer than we have ever been. I actually think you two would get along great. But you are right she did put things on my shoulders after my dad died that she shouldn't have.

"Anyway, I kept dropping my keys. The next thing I know is a cop is coming up to me asking me what I was doing. At first, she thought I was trying to break into the car then she figured out I was trying to get in my car. She took my keys and then put me in cuffs."

Sam noticed Alex was smiling fondly and she was about to ask why when Alex turned her whole body toward her, "Maggie had been the cop that arrested me that night. Neither of us remembered the encounter until I started telling her this story. If anyone had tried to tell me then that we would have gotten engaged I would have laughed in their face but I'm getting ahead of myself again."

So, Alex and Maggie had been engaged. Sam hadn't seen that one coming. Everything M'gann had said about Alex and how hard it was when she and Maggie broke up now has a whole new meaning. To end an engagement to a person you are in love with isn't to be taken lightly. But then she remembered what Lena had said to her after her breakfast with Alex. Alex and Maggie hadn't seen eye to eye on somethings. Guess it's better that they ended things before they got married and wound up having to go through a messy divorce.

"I managed to make it to the holding cell before I passed out. I woke up a few hours later to J'onn standing outside of my cell. I knew who he was. He was my dad's partner from the FBI. He had been there for all the important events that my dad should have been at. I hated that he was standing outside of that cell.

"I hadn't known it at the time, but Eliza saw me in Midvale that day. In my car drinking before I pulled away to go to National City. She had called J'onn and asked him to keep an eye on me if he could. He bailed me out and took me home so I could shower and change. Then he took me to the bureau and offered me a job. I took him up on the offer and haven't been sorry since. I stopped drinking and partying, really turned my life around."

Sam felt sorry for past Alex. Having pressures put on her that were unnecessary. But she was impressed with how far Alex has come. "You weren't kidding about your past being interesting, but you've come so far. If anything, this makes me like you more. Appreciate you and the person you are because of your past. How did you go from your everyday Agent to a Director? That is the one question I've been dying to get an answer to all week."

Alex shook her head, brushed a few strands of hair from her face, "I can't go into all the details because it's classified but the short version is J'onn retired and asked me to take his place. The funny thing about all of this is I went to him to resign."

Sam looked shocked. She had heard Alex talk about her job and every time she sounded like it was something that she really enjoyed. "Why were you going to resign?"

Here it was the moment she has been dreading. She goes back and forth on whether or not she should tell Sam the reason she and Maggie broke up. In the end she decides to leave it for now. "I made a decision on a mission that could have resulted in me dying. I used to make rash decisions never thinking about the consequences. After that mission the reason Maggie and I ended our engagement kept weighing on me heavily. Because of that I went to J'onn and told him I was quitting but he wouldn't let me. Gave me a heartfelt speech about doing things on my own terms and gave me the promotion on the spot."

Alex wasn't ready to tell Sam why she ended her engagement with Maggie and she wouldn't push her. She would tell her when she was ready. "Well congratulations on the promotion and condolences on the failed engagement. It sounds like you really loved Maggie."

Alex took another sip of her whiskey, "Yeah I did and a part of still does and probably always will. She was the first woman I fell in love with and the same woman who made me realize I was gay."

Sam had been halfway through taking a generous swallow of her whiskey when Alex said that last part. It took everything in her not to choke on it, "Wait how long have you been out?"

"A little over 2 years. You sound very surprised."

"Because I am. Alex you have the confidence of a woman who has been out there picking up women for years. Of course, I'm surprised. I know everyone is different, but you haven't once seemed like your still new at this. Unless you aren't because you've been hooking up with random women?"

It was Alex's turn to look surprised. She should probably be offended at Sam's word's, but she wasn't. After J'onn had made her director of the DEO. She had indeed gained some confidence once that happened. But truth be told the boost in confidence on the picking up women front had come when she ran into Sara Lance again a few months ago.

"I've only been with one other woman after I ended things with Maggie. Her name is Sara Lance. A few weeks after I had ended it Kara invited me as her plus one to a friend's wedding. It was in a different city and she figured it might be a good way for both of us to forget about how miserable life was for a few days. Well Sara and I managed to bond over heartache and I ended up having a one-night stand with her. I ran into her again a few months ago at Pearl and one thing lead to another and she ended up in my bed.

"After that night something changed. I hadn't healed completely from the heartache of letting Maggie go but it wasn't a searing pain anymore. Something I finally had control of. But I wasn't quite ready to put myself out there yet. That mostly had to do with a few crazy missions and a couple of incidents that required me to go back into the field more than I would have liked. I was actually supposed to go out on a date Monday but you Samantha Arias turned my world upside down and I couldn't go through with the date. Would have been too distracted by thoughts of you."

Sam couldn't help the blush that started spreading across her cheeks. She turned so she would completely face Alex. What she saw took her breath away. Alex had her left elbow on the counter with her head in her hand. A smirk that she had become so fond of. Eyes so happy that they sparkled. Sam wanted to leap out of her seat and show Alex how much she had come to care for her.

But now wasn't the right time. But she wasn't going to stop herself from flirting with the woman, "What exactly would those thoughts have been?"

"How I would rather be talking to you about the mundane parts of your life than those of the woman I was with. How your entire face lights up when you laugh or when a smile crosses your lips. How fiercely loyal you are toward Lena without even realizing it. How beautiful you are without even trying."

Alex hadn't realized she had gotten out of her seat and was now standing very close to Sam. She could see the desire burning in Sam. Knew that Sam wanted her. But it was far too soon for this. Alex put a hand on Sam's cheek. Gently rubbing her thumb across her cheekbone. Alex leaned in and kissed Sam. This was different than the kiss Sam had given her earlier. Sam had kissed her tentatively. Like she wasn't sure she should be doing it.

Alex kissed her passionately trying to convey everything she felt for the other woman in that kiss. Their lips moved together in a dance that shouldn't be familiar, but it felt like Alex had been doing this for years. That this wasn't the first time she was showing Sam how she felt about her. It is in this moment that Alex starts to truly realize why she was falling for Sam. There had always been an easy familiarity between them, yet they hadn't known each other before last Saturday.

Well this was an unexpected development but a very welcomed one. Sam couldn't get enough of the feel of Alex's lips on hers. Silky like satin. Seriously how could someone's lips feel like satin? But she really didn't care because the feelings she was feeling just from kissing this beautiful woman were something she hadn't realized she had been craving. She has been alone far too long. Alex pulled away and Sam wanted to pull her back in but knew she couldn't. They needed to take this as slow as they possibly could. Things had already progressed quicker than either of them had wanted.

"Alex, we need to talk about this, us. What we want this to be."

Reaching for the bottle of whiskey on the counter Alex poured more into her glass as well as Sam's. She took a couple sips before she answered Sam. "I think we both know what we want from this. I've tried to take things as slow as possible but there is something about you that is different. I know this is going to sound crazy but there has been a sense of familiarity between both of us since I sat next to you in the booth that night at the bar. I can't deny that I've been drawn to you ever since. When I was walking you to your car last Saturday I couldn't help but think that it was a shame I wouldn't get to see you until tonight. When you suggested breakfast on Tuesday I had a hard time containing my excitement.

"I went home that night for the first time in months happy about what the future held. I didn't know exactly how much of my future would include you but any part of my future with you was worth exploring."

It was comforting to know that Alex felt the same way. That there was a sense of familiarity that had been there from the beginning. That Alex was just as excited to see Sam and vice versa. Although Sam hadn't gone through a break up recently she found herself the happiest she has been in years about what her future held as well. The possibility of Alex getting to be a part of that was something she didn't think about long. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Clearly we enjoy each other's company. Clearly there is chemistry between us. That much I think we can both agree on. I honestly wouldn't count this as a date. Only because of how heavy the night has been but for sake of argument we'll call it a date. Alex, I know that I want you to be my girlfriend. That is if you want to be?"

Those words had a warmth spreading through her chest. Alex wanted this so much, "Yes, I want to be your girlfriend."

A huge smile spread across Sam's face, "Good because God knows I want to spend more nights like this, have more surprise lunches in my office and more breakfast dates just maybe not in your tactical suit."

Slightly hooded eyes were looking into Alex's after the mention of her suit. Alex could only smirk, "So you really like me in the suit do you Arias?" Alex said flirtatiously.

Sam just shook her head and took another sip of her whiskey, "I like you in just about anything you wear but the suit definitely is at the top of the list."

"Note taken. Let's get serious again. So, what exactly are we going to tell everyone? Do we want to just tell them were dating? I would assume you're going to talk to Lena about all this. I mean you know she was giving us looks the whole night."

Alex's rambling was a welcome relief. Talking about Alex in her suit was doing things to Sam that she knew couldn't be acted on for a while but that easy banter was just that. Something that came easy with Alex felt natural.

"I did. Lena and I have already talked about you. She is all for us pursuing this but she will kick your ass if you hurt me just, so you know. As for what we tell everyone I think the dating thing is a good idea. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to say anything to Lena about us deciding to make things official. Knowing Lena she'll pick up on it but not say anything until we tell her. She's a good friend in that way."

"My sister noticed us that night too. She just wants me to be happy again and I can tell she likes you so that isn't a problem. Telling her we're dating seems like a good idea. Just a heads up she will threaten to throw you into outer space if you hurt me."

"Is that how she threatens all of your suitors?"

"She's only used it twice and meant it both times. She almost did with Maggie when she rejected me the first time."

"Point taken. Well I have no intentions of hurting you Alex and I think it is safe to say you feel the same about me."

"I do. So, neither of us is going to say anything to Kara and Lena but you know they will talk about us and make all kinds of speculations. Might even throw in a bet about when we'll get together or who will make the first move."

"Jokes going to be on them though. When do you think Kara will finally admit her feelings for Lena?"

"Things are still kinda complicated between them. They had a falling out earlier this year and only just reconciled a few months ago. It took me sitting them down before they would talk. They were both so miserable without the other but both of them too stubborn to admit that they both screwed up. A lot of tears were shed, and many hurtful words thrown around but I think they have both grown from the situation."

Sam was about to say something when her phone started ringing. She glanced at it and saw that it was Ruby she couldn't ignore this. "It's Ruby I have to take this. Hey baby what's up? Just calling to tell me good night. Are you having a good time at Rachel's? Oh, wow that is pretty awesome. We'll I love you too Ruby I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Yep I'll be there at 11 AM not a second later. Sweet dreams baby."

Alex couldn't help but listen to the conversation. It was clear through Sam's end of the conversation that mother and daughter had a special bond. They both loved each other fiercely. She knew from talking to Lena that Sam's top priority would always be Ruby and Alex was ok with that. A child should always be the top priority. Alex was broken from her thoughts by Sam apologizing.

"Sorry about that. First night at a new friend's house and Ruby was more nervous than she let on. Needed to hear my voice before she could attempt to sleep."

"Sounds like you two have a strong bond."

"Yeah we do. Which I have always been grateful for. Things could have turned out so differently. Me being a single mother and barely able to make ends meet for so long Ruby would have every right to resent me. But she doesn't."

"She sounds like a great kid. Listen about Ruby. I know she is a big part of your life and will always be your top priority as it should be. We need to take things as slow as we possibly can and that includes you introducing me to her. I don't want you to feel pressured into introducing me to her before you're ready. I can't wait to meet her, but I just want you to know that I don't want you to feel pressured into it."

If Sam wasn't already smitten by this woman she would be now. How did she always consider Ruby in this equation having not met the girl yet. The fact that Alex knew Ruby was an important part of Sam's life and would always be her top priority gave Sam hope for the future.

She hadn't realized she was crying until Alex was standing in front of her again. This time with her hands resting on both her cheeks brushing away the tears she was shedding with her thumbs. "Alex you have no idea how much that means to me. I've been doing this on my own for so long. Sadly, every date that I had gone on since I was 20 always ended in disaster. Most of the people were shocked to find out about Ruby and left or I told them about her, but they showed such an indifference toward her because all they wanted was to get into bed with me.

"That's why I stopped dating years ago. Your right though I'm not going to introduce you to her until I know that it is the right time. I honestly can't wait for you to meet her as well. This is the first time I've felt this way about another person in a long time. Ruby's dad hasn't been a part of our lives ever and it's just been the two of us for 13 years so I really appreciate that you are taking my daughter into consideration in this whole situation. She has only had me her entire life and bringing someone else into our lives that she could get attached to is always scary."

Alex was genuinely shocked by the fact that Sam hadn't found anyone that wanted to love her and her daughter. She hadn't met Ruby yet, but she knew this girl was special and who wouldn't want to get to know her.

"Well if you ask me anyone that wouldn't want to date you because you have a kid is an idiot. I know you are kind, smart, funny and so sure of yourself. If any of those characteristics have been passed on to Ruby she is definitely a well-rounded kid that anyone should consider themselves lucky to get to know."

Sam found herself in awe of Alex Danvers again. This woman was something else. She knew deep down Ruby would love her and couldn't wait to introduce them but Alex was right she couldn't introduce them until it was the right time. She knew that it wouldn't be until she knew Alex wasn't going anywhere.

Sam leaned in and kissed Alex again. "Alex, I don't think you know how much of an anomaly you are. I really do appreciate you considering my daughter in all this. She is a special girl and I don't want her heart to get broken if I can help it."

They spent the next couple of hours talking about anything and everything but mostly Ruby. When Sam left Alex's, she felt lighter than she had felt in a long time. If she was honest Alex was exactly what she wanted in a partner for the longest time but hadn't been able to find. She suspected that it was because she was waiting for Alex Danvers the entire time but didn't know it.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam waved to Debbie as Ruby ran to the car. Once Ruby had gotten herself buckled in Sam asked how the sleepover was.

"It was good. We didn't stay up as late as we wanted. We might be in some of the same classes when school starts. She did tell me to watch out for a couple of people apparently there is a group of kids that have been in the same class since kindergarten and their favorite past time is picking on the new kids."

"All I'm gonna tell you is watch your back but don't let them get to you. If they get in your face don't push them away but don't let them push you around either. If, and I really hope this doesn't happen, if they hit you or do anything similar fight back and try to get away."

"I can take care of myself well enough. Besides I'm really charming when I need to be so maybe they won't bother me. How was your date?"

"It was good. We talked about a lot of different things got to know each other better."

"When am I going to meet her?"

"Not for a while. Alex and I just met we are figuring each other out. I don't want you to meet her until I know Alex isn't going anywhere."

"That's not what you did with Max. Is that why your being careful now?"

Sam was surprised Ruby remembered Max. She hadn't introduced Max to Ruby until they had been together for six months. It took her two months to even mention Ruby he had been upset at first but had ultimately understood why she had hidden her from him.

"It's part of the reason but Max turned out to be different than he let on. I don't think that will be the case with Alex but I still want to protect you. I have a feeling you two are going to hit it off and I don't want you to form a connection with her only to have it taken away because things didn't work out between us."

"Mom I'm almost 13 I think I could handle it if things didn't work out with you and Alex."

"I know but you are always going to be my baby and protecting you is always going to be my top priority." Sam watched Ruby roll her eyes. "I know we were supposed to have a pancake Saturday today, but it doesn't feel right without you waking up in the house what do you say we try that café on 2nd that we've been eyeing all week?"

"Sure. We can always do pancakes next Saturday. Unless you've got another date Friday night?"

"No, we don't have a date planned for Friday night. Actually, haven't even planned our next date yet. Next Saturday we can definitely do pancakes."

Sam and Ruby had just ordered when a Sam became aware of some activity outside and so did everyone in the café. They went outside to see exactly what was going on. They had barely stepped on the sidewalk when an alien species Sam didn't recognize came barreling down the street with Supergirl not far behind. Sam and Ruby ran for cover but couldn't make it back inside the café in time. Supergirl and the unknown alien smash through the building and Ruby gets hit by a piece of the window frame and is knocked unconscious.

Alex had seen Sam and Ruby before Supergirl and the White Martian collided right next to Ruby. The window had shattered, and a piece of frame hit Ruby in the head. Alex ran over to them to see how badly Ruby had gotten hurt.

She walked up to Sam who was now on the ground clutching her unconscious daughter. Alex knelt down in front of Sam, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sam looked at Alex clearly startled until she recognized her. "Can I take a look at her? I didn't get to tell you the last night, but I did eventually get my MD. Could be a practicing doctor if I wanted to be but I like kicking butt too much."

That last part got Sam to laugh. She nodded her head and let Alex do a quick assessment of her daughter's injuries. She watched as Alex checked Ruby's pulse, made sure her pupils would dilate and cataloged the various cuts from the broken glass.

"Ruby will be just fine."

Sam picked up on the hesitation at the end of that sentence, "Alex what's wrong?"

She knew Sam could take Ruby to the hospital and they would be able to patch her up just fine. The thing is Supergirl had caused Ruby to be in this situation and Alex didn't want Sam to be burdened with the medical bill. Problem was she would have to take them both to the DEO. Civilians weren't supposed to know about the DEO. If, she took Sam and Ruby there she would have to hand them NDA's and that wasn't something that they needed right now but Alex knew it was the right call.

"I'm going to take you and Ruby back to headquarters and patch her up. But I have to warn you I don't work for the FBI. It's just my cover story. I work for a secret military branch of the government. I'll tell you when we get there."

Sam wasn't sure how to respond. On the one hand Alex had lied to her about her job but then she found out it's because she works for a secret government agency, so it made sense. Then when she really thought about it Alex probably shouldn't be telling her any of this. "Alex you don't need to do that I can take Ruby to the hospital and they can take care of it."

"Your right Sam they can but Supergirl did this to her. Yes, it wasn't entirely her fault. She sometimes forgets to take in her surroundings when she gets deep into a fight and now I'm rambling again. What I'm trying to say is it wouldn't sit well with me if anyone else patched up my girlfriend's daughter when a close personal friend of mine did this to her."

Hearing Alex call her, her girlfriend for the first time made her smile. The fact that Alex felt the need to patch up her daughter because her close personal friend, Supergirl, had accidentally done this to her daughter nearly had Sam kissing Alex right there but Ruby had started to regain consciousness. "Ok I'll let you patch her up but on one condition."

"What's the condition?"

"Let me repay the favor by letting me cook dinner for you."

Alex never got a chance to respond because Ruby was now completely conscious. "Mom my head really hurts and my arm stings."

"I know baby this lovely woman here is a doctor she's kindly offered to patch you up, but we can't do that here. Do you think you can walk?"

"I don't know but I can try." Ruby started to feel dizzy the moment she stood up and it didn't stop.

Sam knew she couldn't carry Ruby by herself and she wasn't sure if Alex could either but before Sam could say anything Alex was already asking Ruby if she had permission to pick her up and carry her to her car. Ruby let out a very shaky yes and Alex had picked her up and started walking toward her SUV.

Sam followed and before she climbed in to sit beside her daughter she looked at Alex and smiled, "Thank you." She got into the SUV before Alex could say anything.

They drove in silence. Alex had picked up on Sam not telling Ruby her name. They had agreed to take things slow. So of course she wasn't surprised. But Sam's comment about cooking her dinner had her confused. The way she had said it made it sound like it was something she wanted to happen tonight. But maybe Alex had read into that wrong.

They pulled into the DEO parking garage and Alex told Sam to stay in the car with Ruby while she went to get a stretcher. Ruby wasn't heavy exactly it would just be weird for her agents to see her walking in carrying a teenager in her arms. Vasquez would be the first person to say something and wouldn't let it go for weeks. She did tell Vasquez to send out a quick communication to the labs and a few of the agents that were working on top secret projects to hide anything because two civilians were entering the building.

Once that had been taken care of Alex went to the med bay and took a stretcher and kindly asked Dr. Hamilton to stay out of room 5. She didn't ask any questions but told Alex she would make sure room 5 remained undisturbed.

When Alex had made it back to the SUV she opened the door and let Sam out first. Ruby slid over toward the door and she let Alex pick her up again, so she could put her on the stretcher. She wheeled it into the DEO and received a few looks. Her agents knew better than to stare. The one who didn't got the back of his head slapped by Vasquez.

Once they were in room 5 Alex stepped into her role as doctor. She gathered all the necessary supplies to clean and stitch together any of Ruby's cuts that needed it. "Okay Ruby this is going to sting a little, but I have to numb these cuts on your arm, so I can stitch them closed ok. It's not going to hurt just feel like someone is pinching you."

"It's ok I'm not afraid of needles. But my mom over there deathly afraid of needles."

Alex couldn't help but smile, "So your mom is afraid of needles. You want to know who else is afraid of needles? Supergirl."

She saw Ruby's face light up at this newly discovered information, "Wait you know Supergirl and she's afraid of needles? How can she be afraid of needles? She is bulletproof."

Chuckling quietly to herself she finished injecting the localized anesthetic into Ruby's arm. "I'm Supergirl's personal physician and sometimes after a particularly bad fight with another alien I have to run tests to make sure she didn't contract any alien illnesses or things of that nature. One of those tests requires me to draw blood and the only way I can do that is if I take away her powers. Supergirl isn't used to feeling any kind of pain but for some reason needles are what do her in."

"How do you take away her powers?"

"Well Krypton has a red sun, so we created lamps that imitate the red sun and no powers."

Sam sat back and watched Alex interact with her daughter. By the way Alex hadn't told Ruby her first name and hadn't yet indicated that she knew Sam meant that Alex had picked up on the subtle way of indicating that she wasn't ready for Ruby to know that this was Alex. The woman she couldn't help talking about. She was going to use this as a test of sorts. Because it really was too soon. But then again everything about them and their relationship keeps happening too fast. Unintentionally. It's like the universe was telling them that as hard as they were going to try and take things slow it wasn't going to let them.

She thought back to what Alex had said earlier about this being a secret government agency. She had caught a glimpse of something on one of the agent's computer screens as Alex was leading them to the medical bay. Alex didn't have to tell her who she worked for. Sam knew. She had overheard a conversation Lena had over the phone last week. She had probably been on the phone with Alex herself. Alex was the Director of the DEO.

She worked to protect this city, the country from aliens. This gave Sam a whole new appreciation for her not doing much field work anymore. Especially after what had happened today. She shook her head and focused back on the interaction of her daughter with the woman she didn't know was her mother's girlfriend. They had moved off of the topic of Supergirl and Krypton to of all things soccer.

"You going to play at your new school? Or will you play in the city youth league?"

"If I make the cut then I would love to play for school. Try outs are after the second day of school. If I don't make it then I guess I'll ask mom if I can play for the city league."

She smiled at Ruby and stole a glance at Sam before saying, "Your mom seems like a nice lady and I think she would let you play for the city league."

Sam finally joined in on the conversation, "Absolutely but Rubes you are going to make the cut for the school team. You've got skills kid. So, Doctor Agent Danvers how is the patient doing? Not talking your ear off I hope."

Alex smiled at Sam, mostly because she had called her Doctor Agent Danvers. She had picked up on the slight sarcastic tone she said Agent with but played along. "Ruby here will make a full recovery. She has a minor concussion. Just keep an eye on her the next few days. If she starts to feel dizzy take her to the ER. She has many minor cuts from the glass. I've stitched up the 3 deep ones."

"When should I take her to get the stitches removed?"

Alex gave Sam her signature smirk, "You won't have to. This is a special thread that will completely dissolve after 10 days."

Why did Sam feel like Alex had created these? The proud and somewhat smug look on her face confirmed it. "Well that's handy."

"It is. So, I'm done patching Ruby up but I need to speak to you in private. Ruby you'll have to stay in here. I'm just going to step into the hallway to talk to your mom please don't touch anything and don't try to come out into the hallway. Don't worry I'm not going to give her bad news about you. It's just bringing you here means I have to talk to your mom about some things. You know secret government agency and all."

Ruby nodded in agreement Alex lead Sam into the hallway. Alex was about to tell Sam that she worked for the DEO, but Sam had grabbed her face in her hands and kissed her. Alex really hoped none of her agents would walk by she would never hear the end of it from Vasquez.

Sam ended the kiss. Alex probably didn't want her agents seeing this side of her. "I know this is the DEO and you probably have a mountain of paperwork that I'll need to fill out but I had to do that. Watching you being Doctor Director Danvers was hot. Also, I never got an answer about dinner. Seriously you kept me from panicking earlier and patched up my daughter. It's the least I can do."

"How did you know this was the DEO?"

Sam grimaced at the very stern look on Alex's face. "I accidentally overheard Lena on the phone. I'm assuming with you and she mentioned the DEO. When I saw an image of a Khund on one of your agents screens I put everything together."

"Looks like I'll have to talk to Lena again about taking phone calls from me in her office. Well at least ones that are DEO related. We aren't as underground as we used to be, but we still like to keep a low profile. When we do encounter civilians asking questions we always say we are anything but the DEO. As for your question about dinner yes, I happily accept. But how is that going to work? We still need to take things slow. I still think it is too soon. We both know we couldn't pretend to sit through dinner without giving it away that we already know each other. Why does it seem like the universe doesn't want us to take things slow?" Alex said, running her hand through her hair.

After watching her interact with Ruby, Sam was absolutely ready to formally introduce them. But she wanted to have fun with it. "I was thinking the same thing. I intentionally didn't say who you were in front of Ruby because I wanted to see you interact with her. Also, to see how she would interact with you not knowing who you were. I'm ready to formally introduce you to my daughter but I want to have some fun with this. If your game?"

Narrowing her eyes and tilting her head to the side Alex knew her smile mirrored Sam's. "What did you have in mind?"

"Just follow my lead."

Sam opened the door, "I know you said you were more than happy to do this given the circumstances but seriously let me at least cook dinner for you. It really is the least I can do for patching up my daughter."

Alex knew where this was going, and this was going to be fun, "Well since you insist of course I would be more than happy to join you for dinner."

"Great are you free tonight?"

"I am just tell me when and where?"

Sam wrote down her number and address and handed it to Alex. "Will 6PM work for you?"

"I'll see you at 6. Now let's get you out of here."

Alex had already called an Uber and it was waiting for them out front. She watched the car drive away. Tonight, was indeed going to be fun.

When they got back to the house Sam text Alex to let her know that they had gotten home safely. Also asking if she wanted Sam to fix anything in particular for dinner tonight. Alex had told her to surprise her. "Ruby, what do you think we should make for dinner tonight?"

"I think you should go with your lasagna. My friends from Metropolis used to say it was better than any their moms made or they could get in any restaurant in the city. She seems pretty cool and maybe you two could become friends."

Sam looked at her daughter with mild amusement, "Do I come off as that lonely to you?"

Ruby knew her mom would never admit it, but she was lonely. She always said Ruby was all she companionship she needed in life. That's why she was happy that her mom might have finally found herself a girlfriend.

"No mom its, just that I'm not a little kid anymore and I want you to have a life too. You really seem to like Aunt Lena's friends and you have found a woman that makes you really happy. I know things are still early and you don't know exactly where things will go but I would have to be blind not to see how happy she makes you. The reason I say you and Agent Danvers might become friends gives you a friend outside of what sounds like a close group of people. You know just in case you and one of them gets into a fight. You can have someone on the outside to vent to you know."

How had Ruby grown up so fast? It's like the 12-year-old that left Opal City 2 weeks ago was replaced by a young adult. But Ruby was in for a surprise when she found out Agent Danvers was none other than the Alex that made her mom so happy.

"Well we'll have to see how tonight goes. Let's go to the store and get the ingredients we'll need for dinner and what do you say we come back and watch a movie. We still have plenty of time before Agent Danvers will be here."

"Sounds good. Oh, hey did Agent Danvers give you her first name?"

Sam had been waiting for this question, "No, when I asked she just said to call her Agent Danvers. Maybe if things go well tonight we can get it out of her."

"If not it's cool. I mean she is an agent for some kind of government agency that I know I can't tell anyone I know about. Still pretty cool to think I have met a government agent that isn't anything like the ones they have on tv."

You have no idea how cool that woman you just met is, Sam thought to herself. They left the house to go get supplies for tonight. The anticipation of Alex formally meeting her daughter was almost too much.

At 6PM on the dot there was a knock on the door. Sam answered it, "Agent Danvers please come in. Sam took a moment to look Alex over. She was wearing an outfit similar to the night she had first met her. Skin tight skinny jeans, leather jacket and boots. But tonight, instead of the hunter green shirt she had been wearing that first night she wore a light grey graphic tee with a simple plaid shirt left unbuttoned over it.

Alex knew Sam was checking her out. She somehow always knew when the other woman's eyes were on her. Alex took her jacket off and hung it up on the coat rack in the front entrance. She slipped her boots off next. Before she could say anything to Sam Ruby came into the hallway.

"You made it Agent Danvers!"

Alex smiled when Ruby hugged her, "Of course. Truth be told the promise of a home cooked meal was too good to pass up. I must confess I'm useless in the kitchen. I can help with prep but when it comes to the actual cooking of things I always set off the smoke detector. I would have ended up eating left over take out from the other night."

"Well I'm sure your good at other things so that has to make up for the lack of cooking skills." Sam found herself wondering if Alex really was that bad in the kitchen or if she was making up a story for the benefit of this little ruse they had going.

"Yeah I'm sure your good at lots of other things. Oh, hey do you want to go see my medals and trophies from soccer?"

Alex looked at Sam and she nodded her head, "I would love to!" Ruby started to run toward the stairs but Alex stopped her. "Remember when I said you needed to take it easy earlier?"

Ruby looked at her sheepishly, "Sorry I just got excited this is the first time we've had anyone over at the house since we've moved."

"It's ok I just don't want you to aggravate any of your injuries. As much as I like being a cool Agent Doctor I would like to not have to play doctor tonight. Plus, I think it would cause your mom to worry."

Sam watched the interaction, again impressed with how gentle Alex was with Ruby. She watched as Ruby took the stairs slowly. Alex stopped at the foot of the stairs and smiled at Sam before following Ruby.

A few minutes later they were coming back down stairs giggling about something. Alex took a seat at the bar. Ruby went to go read a book on the couch. "What were you two giggling about?"

"How crazy some of the dumb plays have been during the world cup."

"So, you're a soccer fan?"

"I wouldn't say fan. I played in middle and high school. I follow the US teams but not religiously. I do try to catch as many games as I can when the World Cup is happening. Which hasn't been many this year." Alex lowered her voice to a whisper, "Since I'm the Director of the DEO and all."

"Speaking of that when am I going to be filling out a mountain of paperwork?"

Alex looked at her girlfriend with an amused grin, "You'll be filling it out at my place in the next few days. Whenever your free."

It was Sam's turn to lower her voice, "I'm free Wednesday night." Alex nodded her head in agreement. "Ruby can you come set the table please?" Ruby came into the kitchen to grab the plates and utensils. "Alex, what would you like to drink? I have water, sweet tea and wine."

"Just water thank you."

They sat at the table and conversation flowed freely. Ruby and Alex talked about science and math. Alex and Sam asked general questions about each other's lives. It worked out that Sam hadn't talked to Alex about living in Metropolis yet. It helped them keep up the façade of not knowing each other.

While Ruby was clearing the table, Alex leaned back in her chair, "Sam I can honestly say that was the best lasagna I have ever had. Thank you for the wonderful meal and the company. Sure, beats a night in my apartment alone."

Sam was about to respond but Ruby jumped in before could say anything, "You guys seemed to hit it off you could be friends and then we can make this a regular thing!" Ruby exclaimed very excited by the idea of her mom and the agent becoming friends.

Sam and Alex exchanged looks it was time to fill Ruby in on the secret. "I see someone is smitten with you Agent Danvers. Ruby lets, take this one step at a time baby."

"Oh, come on mom. She's nice and you guys talked without any awkward silence so, I think you should give it a shot at being friends. I'm the only girl that has mattered to you for a very long time and I approve of Agent Danvers so come on try and be friends with the woman. Which reminds me I want to meet Kara, James, Winn and Alex at some point. I know Alex is off limits for a while, but she is still on my list. If, I can't meet Alex can I at least meet Lena's other friends?"

Sam should be mad at her daughter's outburst but one look at Alex and she couldn't hold it in any longer. "Well you can check one of those people off that list and while I should be mad at you for your outburst I can't be. Ruby I would like to formally introduce you to Alex. Alex Danvers my girlfriend."

Both Sam and Alex looked at Ruby to see her reaction. She opened her mouth to say something. But closed it only to open it again. She repeated the motion a few more times before her brain seemed to catch up with what Sam had said.

Ruby was stunned. She should be mad at her mom for not telling her all day that the woman that had stitched her up. That was sitting at her kitchen table was Alex. "Wait this is Alex. The same Alex you haven't been able to stop talking about since last Saturday? The same Alex who makes you smile more than I've seen you smile in a long time? Wait did you say she was your girlfriend?"

"Yes, Ruby the same Alex." Sam could only hold her breath. She was worried that Ruby would be mad at her for keeping this from her all day. What she got instead blew her mind and took her breath away.

Ruby looked at Alex, then her mom and finally back at Alex again. She ran up to Alex and gave her the biggest hug she could manage.

"Whoa their tiger. You might be able to give Supergirl a run for her money on hugs." Alex hadn't expected the hug. She had honestly expected Ruby to be mad that they had kept this from her all day.

Ruby pulled away, "I'm just glad my mom found you. Seriously Alex this is the happiest I've seen her in forever. But fair warning you break her heart Aunt Lena will be the least of your worries."

Alex could only chuckle. She doubted Ruby could physically do anything to her but emotionally maybe. Lena could most definitely put a hit out on her and her body would never be found.

"Note taken. I have no intention of hurting her or you. We had wanted to take things slow. I wasn't even supposed to meet you until your mom was absolutely certain about us. But fate stepped in and here we are."

"Well you guys can still take things slow and we don't have to see each other again for a few weeks if it will make you guys feel better."

Both Ruby and Alex turned to look at Sam and saw that she was crying. Ruby jumped from Alex's lap and ran to her mother. "Mom what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

Sam shook her head, "No baby you didn't do anything wrong. You have said all the right things and it makes me so happy that you approve of Alex and I dating. Speaking of that. Alex is most definitely my girlfriend and I would like you to keep that information to yourself for now. I mean the only person you would potentially tell would be Aunt Lena. It's kinda complicated as to why Alex and I don't want anyone to know but can you keep this a secret until we are ready to tell people?"

"Of course, mom. Anything you need." Ruby turned back to Alex and was slightly puzzled by the look on her face but she decided that she should probably give the adults some alone time. She walked back to Alex and gave her another hug. "Seriously I'm glad mom found you. I'm going to go to my room give you two sometime alone."

Alex walked up to Sam and wrapped her arms around her. Alex had been fighting back tears after all the things Ruby had said. She pulled away from Sam and took her face gently in her hands and wipe at the tears still falling from her eyes.

"I'm beginning to think taking things slow just isn't for us. Do I really make you that happy Sam?"

"You do but Ruby gets to see it from a different perspective and since I haven't had any successful relationships this is all new for both of us. I mean the last person I dated that came anywhere close to being considered relationship material took off the moment he found out I had a kid. To be fair I was only 23 with a 7-year-old daughter. He was 24 and not interested in an instant family."

Alex understood that. If she had met Sam 6 years ago and found out after a few dates that she had a daughter she might have felt the same as that guy. When you're that young you look at things differently. Plus, Alex now knew that she definitely wanted a family.

"Well you make me extremely happy as well Sam. I haven't felt like this since things were still good with Maggie and I, if we can I would still try to take things slow but now that Ruby knows who I am it will make it easier for me to come here to actually pick you up for a date instead of meeting you at the destination. Which reminds me game night is next Friday are you available to come?"

"I am. Ruby met a girl at camp that will be in the same class as her when school starts next week she's going to have a sleep over with her and a few other girls. If you want to pick me up, you are more than welcome."

Smiling brightly Alex leaned back into Sam, "Can I kiss you?"

"Please. I've been dying to kiss you all night."

Alex kissed her slow and steady. They had shared a passionate kiss before but that is all it was a kiss. Alex felt her hands start to wander, grabbing at Sam's hips to pull her closer. She felt Sam's hands tangle through her short locks. Alex pushed her hands under Sam's shirt hands still on her hips but now gently running her thumbs over the soft flesh of Sam's abdomen.

This one was all kinds of feelings. The emotions of the day finally coming to a head. Alex let herself really feel Sam's lips beneath hers. They were soft and smooth. Their lips moved as if they hadn't just kissed for the first-time last night. The kiss was becoming more intense than they needed it to be right now. Gently biting Sam's bottom lip and pulling it through her teeth Alex pulled away. Sam apparently wasn't ready for it to end so she leaned forward and kissed Alex again. For only a few seconds then she pulled away.

"This is something I could get used to Director Danvers."

Alex smirked at her girlfriend, "Get used to kissing me or cooking me dinner?" Alex smiled at the laugh her last statement elicited.

"Kissing you and if you play your cards right maybe I'll cook for you again. But hopefully it isn't because my daughter got injured because we were too close to a Supergirl fight." Then for the first time today she really thought about the moment she had found Ruby unconscious. "Alex I really don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there."

Kara would have realized what she had done and she would have offered to bring Sam and Ruby to the DEO, so Alex could look Ruby over and Sam would have gotten the shock of her life. "Knowing Supergirl she would have felt bad about injuring and innocent child she would have offered to take you both to the DEO, so I could look Ruby over and tonight would have gone differently than it did."

"Once the shock wore off I think I would have come to my senses. Probably would have just told Ruby at the DEO who you were but I like the way this turned out. It's still early do you have to go in early tomorrow?"

Alex did but she wasn't going to tell Sam that. She would gladly stay up later than she should if it meant spending time with Sam. "I don't actually. What did you have in mind?"

"Stay and watch a movie with Ruby and I?"

Kissing her again quickly she replied, "There is nowhere else I would rather spend my evening."

"I'll go get Ruby"

Alex insisted that Ruby pick the movie. She had after all been collateral damage from Supergirl's fight this morning. Ruby picked an old Superman movie. "Is Superman really Supergirls cousin? Have you met him too?"

Alex chuckled to herself picturing Clark Kent, Kal-El's, secret identity verses the secret identity they had given Superman in this movie. Michael Johnson. While the actor playing Superman played that part of the role well. Clark was nothing like the alternate persona they had given the man of steel in this movie. If everyone knew how clumsy Superman was in his day to day life they wouldn't believe it.

"Yes, he is Supergirl's cousin and yes, I have met him. He's not as cool as Supergirl but he does smell nice and he is very polite."

"I know you and mom just started this, but do you think one day you could introduce me to Supergirl?"

"Ruby!" Sam chastised her daughter.

Alex was trying her hardest to hold back a laugh. "No Sam its ok. Maybe one day but you're right still too early in the relationship for an introduction to Supergirl."

"That's a fair answer."

Halfway through the movie Ruby had curled into Alex's left side and fallen asleep. She unconsciously moved Ruby, so she could lay her head in her lap and started rubbing the girls back. Sam had noticed what had happened and it all warmed her heart. Alex was indeed different than anyone she had dated before. She knew things wouldn't always feel this way. The feelings of new love would fade. But she hoped that they would one day turn into a love that was forever. A love that was steady, familiar and safe. A love that felt like home.

If Sam was being completely honest she hasn't felt like she has had a home since Patricia kicked her out at 16. With Alex sitting between her and her sleeping daughter with her head in her lap home was something she was starting to feel. It was small little tendrils of that old familiar feeling from her childhood but not enough for the full effect. But maybe one day Alex Danvers would be home for her and Ruby. Sam was pulled from her thoughts by Alex making some comments about the movie.

"If only people knew that the identity Superman takes on to blend in with everyone else is nothing like this Michael character they have created they wouldn't believe it."

"What is Superman like?"

"You sound like your daughter. Well I can't tell you his secret identity but let's just say the man of steel is nowhere near the player or ladies' man that they are making Michael out to be. Superman when he wears the cape is pretty close to this. Not as intimidating unless you push him too far. It's the same with Supergirl but she is more like an excitable puppy most of the time. But when push comes to shove Supergirl can be very intimidating. She gets it from me."

"Ah yes the Director who knows how to torture someone with her index finger 6 different ways."

"If you take some other things into account I know more than 6 ways torture someone with my index finger." Alex looked at Sam and waggled her eyebrows with a cheeky little grin.

Sam playfully slapped her shoulder, "Not while there is a child present. But seriously I would love to hear the story about how you know the cousins of steel."

"Maybe one day. Most of that information is classified. But I can tell you that I've known Supergirl for a very long time. I knew her when she was a teenager she saved my life once well technically she has saved it twice, but the first time is when I learned who she was. I've been protecting her identity ever since."

"Does Kara know her identity as well or just you?"

"Yes, she does but she, just like me won't reveal her identity. Although she almost slipped once and told Lena."

Sam laughed at that, "In Kara's defense Lena had probably been flirting with her and was intentionally trying to get it out of her."

"Probably. Kara hasn't even admitted that she could be bisexual or even gay. That's one of the reasons she is having a hard time admitting that the feelings she has are more than just friendly. I think Lena knows it and that is why she is being patient."

The credits had long since finished Sam didn't want Alex to leave but Alex may not have an early morning but she probably had to go in at some point tomorrow and she definitely needed to get Ruby into bed. "Maybe all Kara needs is a push in the right direction. Lena will take things slow with Kara and if that means waiting for her to realize her feelings Lena will wait for her. The feelings Lena has run deep. Speaking of taking things slow as much as I would love for you to stay all night I don't think that would go with the whole taking things as slow as the universe will let us approach. Plus, I should get Ruby to bed."

Sam was right if Alex stayed that wouldn't exactly be taking things slow. Even if it was just them sharing a bed no funny business. "I can carry her to her room she's not light but not exactly heavy and while I'm not saying you couldn't carry her to bed I saw the hesitation earlier today."

"You caught me. Your right I could manage to carry her because once she is asleep she is out like a log. Carrying her is the only option."

Alex gently picked up Ruby and carried her up the stairs behind Sam to her room. Sam tucked her in, kissed her forehead and told her to have sweet dreams.

She walked down stairs with Alex and walked her out to her motorcycle. She couldn't wait to ride this with her one day. It had been far too long. She wasn't even sure she remembered how to drive one anymore.

"Thanks for everything again Alex."

Alex kissed Sam before responding, "Anytime Sam. Thanks again for dinner." Alex climbed on her bike before she put her helmet on Sam gave her a long lingering kiss that left her breathless. Once Sam had walked to the front door she put her helmet on and backed out of the driveway.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the weekend had gone by without incident. Ruby and Sam spent Sunday in their pajamas, on the couch watching all kinds of movies and Ruby peppering Sam with all kinds of questions about Alex. Sam told her as much as she could. Leaving out the details about Maggie and anything else too personal for Ruby to be hearing about her girlfriend.

"I'm not exactly sure how this whole dating and relationship thing works but this is the quickest I remember you calling someone your significant other. I mean Alex met me and is still here so that has to count for something. But it sounds like you decided this Friday night when you were at her place because she wasn't supposed to meet me yesterday."

Trying to explain this to Ruby wasn't going to be easy because Sam wasn't even sure herself of all the feelings Alex made her feel. "Well when I met her at the bar it was out in the parking lot and I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I had no idea she was friends with Lena. When she sat next to me in the booth we were all sharing it just felt right. Talking to her came so easy. It felt like we had known each other for a long time. There was a sense of familiarity between us that I had never felt with anyone else I've dated.

"She's also been through so much at a young age much like me. Well she didn't get pregnant at 16 but she did loose someone important to her when she was 15 and had so much responsibility put on her shoulders that never should have been put there when her parents adopted her sister. She has come out the other side a much stronger woman just like me.

"But I think the thing I like most about her is she always considers you Ruby. She knows you are the most important person in my life. Knows that you will always come first. It also helps that she has always shown a genuine interest in getting to know you. Even if this hadn't gone the way it has you would at the very least have gained another cool aunt."

Ruby smiled, "The coolest aunt if you ask me." Or the coolest second mom Ruby thought to herself. She could tell how bad her mom had it for Alex. "Speaking of, how does Aunt Lena feel about all of this?"

"She likes Alex and she approves of Alex and I pursuing a relationship if it comes to that."

"But your already there. Why keep it from everyone?"

"Well it is really early. Normally we would go out on a few more dates figure out we like each other enough to give this a go. Then it would be a few more before I introduced her to you and if you approved then I would tell all of our friends. Which honestly at this point we might as well but Alex and I want to see if Lena or Kara, Alex's sister, start placing bets on when we'll get together officially and prove them wrong."

"Any predictions for these bets?"

"Well game night is on Friday and I'm guessing Kara is going to think we'll call it official after that night. Lena knows how slow Alex and I plan on taking things. If Alex shows up at L-Corp with lunch for me unexpectedly then Lena will figure game night is when we will tell everyone we are together."

"Can I get in on this action?"

"Ruby!"

"What I saw you two making out in the kitchen. I came back downstairs to grab my book and didn't think I would catch you guys doing that. Definitely not what I meant when I said I was going to give you some alone time."

"Ok fine what do you want if you end up guessing correctly?"

"The next time Alex is available on a Saturday I want us to have a day with Alex. I was thinking she could come over for breakfast but then I want to take her to lunch just her and I. I want to make sure she is serious about you. Also, I have so many questions for her about Supergirl, what to expect with my advanced math and science classes this year and maybe get a few tips from her on how to improve my running and speed. Then have another family style dinner. That really was nice last night mom."

"I think we can agree to those terms. So, when do you think everyone will figure out we are together?"

"They'll put it all together during the next game night. No way you'll be able to hide your feelings for each other long."

"What happens if your wrong?"

"I clean the living room top to bottom for a whole month?"

"it's a deal."

"But you and Alex can't cheat. You have to act as normal as possible."

"No promises Ruby but Alex and I will do our best."

Ruby just smiled. She hoped she was right. She definitely didn't want to clean the living room for an entire month.

Alex knew Pam would be upset with her. She had no idea how bad though. Thankfully Alex didn't have to hear how upset she was until Monday. Once Alex stepped through the doors Pam was on her like a hawk. She had spent the morning getting a stern talking to from the woman who was old enough to be her mother. Which made it worse. She had to fill out a few new forms and promise Pam that she would have all of Sam and Ruby's paperwork to her by Thursday.

The rest of her morning was filled with debriefings, training some new recruits in various knife skills. Taking mental note of those who showed promise. There was one agent in particular that could probably put her to shame. But testing out that theory would have to wait.

She had been texting Sam all morning. Turns out that one of the investors she had a meeting with was going longer than was necessary. Sam was ready to strangle the arrogant investor and if Sam was reading Lena correctly so was she.

Alex decided that another surprise lunch was in order. She told Vasquez to keep an eye on things for the next two hours and to only call her if it was a life-threatening situation or National City was going to be destroyed. Before Alex could get five steps away from command Pam walked up to her. Manila envelope in hand. Alex looked at her questioningly but took the envelope and peaked inside. Papers for Lena to sign. Pam nodded and walked away. How did she know Alex was going to L-Corp? That woman either had the best 6th sense in the world or she had some informants in the DEO.

Shaking those thoughts from her head Alex headed toward Lena's favorite vegan bistro. She got Lena her favorite sautéed apple and kale salad. She picked up sandwiches for herself and Sam. Last minute she decided to pick up a wrap for Jess. Taking note that Sam wasn't a salad person. Neither was Alex but on one of their work lunches Lena had brought her here and she had tried the salad and had to admit it was pretty tasty.

"Hey Jess. Lena and Sam still trying to win over that investor?"

"Oh, hey Alex. They just finished. They are in Sam's office you can head on in I'm sure they won't mind. Especially considering you brought food."

Alex smiled at Jess, "Thanks." She started to walk into Sam's office but turned around, "I almost forgot. I got lunch for you too."

"That wasn't necessary, thank you Alex."

"Your welcome." Alex knocked on the door before opening it. When she walked in she was greeted with two woman who literally were seething. Sam was pacing in front of the couch that Lena was sitting on, so she wouldn't have seen Alex walk in. But from how intently Lena was focused on Sam she hadn't seen Alex walk in either.

"He knew from the beginning that he wasn't going to invest in this project. Why waste four hours of our time?" Sam stopped pacing, pointed an index finger at her, "That is a rhetorical question don't answer it." Then resumed pacing. "God, I wish we had a way to screen for these things. I had to cancel…Fuck."

"Had to cancel what Sam?"

"I would bet you the first round of drinks next time we go out that he was trying to keep me from talking to that new tech company, Stanton Tech."

"What makes you say that?"

"Lena that meeting should have ended in 2 hours tops. I had a very important call with Stanton Tech's CEO at 11. It is the 3rd time I have had to reschedule that call. He said if I canceled on him a 3rd time there would be no rescheduling. He said they were developing something that he thought L-Corp would want to invest in. Maybe I can have Alex run a background on that guy. He was a new player someone we've never heard of before so it is a possibility that this was all a distraction so L-Corp wouldn't get their hands on some new tech. I'll call Alex and see if she can come over."

"No need to. She's already here and it would appear that she brought lunch."

Sam turned around and saw her girlfriend standing there with a sheepish grin. She shrugged her shoulders, "With all the SOS messages coming from you during the meeting I figured lunch would be a welcome relief."

Sam walked over and took the bag from Alex resisting the urge to kiss her on the lips. Instead opting to kiss her cheek. "I would say you shouldn't have but yep, this was a good call on your part." Sam placed the bags on the coffee table and started unpacking things. "Alex please come sit I'll grab a chair from my desk. What's in the envelope?"

She had forgotten that she was even carrying it, "Oh this is for Lena."

Reaching for the envelope tentatively Lena took it from Alex. She did not like the look Alex had on her face. Part smug and part playful. She opened the envelope carefully and saw DEO symbol across the top she pulled the papers out slowly and then she saw it.

"I'm confused who did I tell about the work you and I are working on?"

Sam shot Alex a look, "Your enjoying this way too much. It's not your fault Lena. I accidentally walked into your office when you were on the phone with Alex. I didn't know that at the time, before I could get out I heard you mention the DEO."

"But Sam doesn't even know what that could even mean."

Alex and Sam exchanged looks, "Which one of us gets to tell the story of how I brought you and Ruby to the DEO?"

Sam thought it over, "I'll let you."

Lena opened the containers found her salad and handed Alex and Sam the other containers. Alex looked at her sandwich and realized Lena handed her the wrong container. Sam was too busy looking at a notification on her phone to notice what was on her sandwich. Alex slid her hand in between the sandwich and Sam's mouth. She couldn't help but laugh at the confused expression on Sam's face.

"Not your sandwich. Unless you all of a sudden like sprouts?"

Sam looked at the sandwich in her hand, placed it back in its container and switched with Alex. Lena of course saw the whole thing and gave Sam a questioning look. She really needed to grill Sam for details on how things were going with Alex. She was tempted to clear the rest of their schedules and make her spill everything.

"Alex, I don't know how you can eat those things. They taste like dirt."

Alex took a bite out of the sandwich chewed and swallowed before responding, "I don't know how you can eat carrots! They taste like someone mixed sugar, dirt, water and soap together. Unless they are Eliza's glazed carrots I want nothing to do with them."

Lena could watch these two ladies banter all day and never get tired of it. Based on what she was seeing in front of her she was going to win the bet with Kara for sure. Sam and Alex would be together by the end of next week. Lena had no doubt about that. "Ok enough you two. I want the details on how Sam and Ruby ended up at the DEO."

"Before I get into that how is Ruby?"

"Good. Her head isn't as sore, and she hasn't had any dizzy spells since she woke up Sunday morning."

"The cuts seem to be healing ok? No signs of infection?" Sam shook her head in response. "Glad to hear it. I wanted to call Sunday but I figured since Supergirl interrupted your plans for Saturday you would want an uninterrupted day with Ruby." Alex looked at Lena and could tell Kara hadn't told her anything and Kara would be getting an earful later. Which Alex only felt mildly bad about.

"Well there was an alien intent on causing some trouble Supergirl wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and she crashed through a window. A window that Sam and Ruby happened to be standing near. Ruby was hit by a piece of the window frame and got cut up by some of the glass."

Lena shook her head, "And knowing you, you had to be the one to take care of Sam's daughter. Which meant taking them to the DEO. Well at least you don't have to lie and say your FBI around Sam anymore."

"That's one of two good things that came out of this whole situation. As is evident by those papers in your hand Pam lit into me this morning. You're lucky you only have 10 papers to sign."

It was Sam's turn to look amused, "It can't be as bad as you guys are making it out to be."

Lena and Alex looked at each other then broke out in a fit of laughter. "Oh Sam, you have no idea what it means to be brought to a government agency that you aren't supposed to know exists. The stack I had to fill out just for signing a contract to help them develop new weapons and armor was pretty thick. Your stack shouldn't be anywhere close to that, but it will be good sized. Pam loves her paperwork. Probably more than you like crunching numbers."

"Maybe I should have just taken Ruby to the ER."

"And miss out on another opportunity to hang out with me, your favorite government agent." Alex gave Sam the biggest grin and batted her eyelashes.

"Keep it up Danvers and you won't get another date."

"Lier. You like me too much."

"After all this paperwork, that might change."

"Highly doubtful. Besides then I couldn't do a background check on the douche bag that took up 4 hours of your time today for no reason. Do you really think it was a rouse?"

Sam couldn't really explain it but after the first hour the meeting felt more like a wild goose chase and her gut is telling her she is right. "I do. The tech that Stanton wanted L-Corp to invest in would be highly sought after. If Lord Tech hadn't gone off the map they may not have even approached us."

"If its ok with Lena give me the guy's name and access to the security footage and I'll get some info on him. See if he is on the up and up."

"I trust Sam so if she thinks this guy caused us to miss a great investment opportunity then you have access to whatever you need." Lena's phone rang. It was a call she had to take she stepped out of Sam's office leaving them alone.

"Hey." Sam said as she put her hand on Alex's cheek.

"Hey." Alex turned her head and kissed Sam's palm. She could live a thousand lifetimes and she would still wonder how this woman had taken ahold of her heart so quickly. "I would have brought you lunch today even if the meeting had gone well. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Sam wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she had. Alex was quickly taking up a very empty part of herself that she hadn't realized was there.

Sam was going to be over any minute. It had taken Pam longer to get the paperwork together. Probably because Alex had waited so long to go to retrieve it. She saw the small packet for her on top. Her punishment she guessed. She had just gotten out of the shower when someone started pounding on her door. There was no way that could be Sam. She quickly grabbed her gun. She peered through the peep hole and saw someone she hadn't expected.

She opened her door to a friend she hadn't seen in a long time and most definitely hadn't been expecting to see tonight. "Lucy! What are you doing here?"

Lucy looked Alex up and down. Her hair was damp, towel wrapped around her body and gun in hand. Definitely a turn on. Lucy had always wanted to know what that body looked like but Alex had been deep in the closet. Then Maggie happened. Honestly at this point Lucy had moved on from her fantasies of Alex but in moments like this they came creeping back.

"Good to see you too Danvers. I just got back into town and wanted to surprise you. But it seems you are in no shape to entertain visitors."

"Well actually that is true. Um I've got someone coming over any minute now but um, come on in while I finish getting ready. Make yourself at home. You know where everything is nothing has changed."

Alex ran back to her bathroom. Dried her hair as quickly as she could. Decided she would forgo the makeup tonight. Sam wouldn't care. She had just exited the bathroom when a knock sounded on the door. "God what I wouldn't give to have a more closed in floor plan."

Lucy laughed "Want me to distract your date? But guessing by this stack of papers you brought someone to the DEO that you shouldn't have and are having them fill them out at your place which isn't exactly kosher which means that you both have more paperwork to fill out than you would have if you had followed proper protocol. Well actually you could have avoided this whole situation by following protocol in the first place."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Shut up Lucy. No, you don't need to distract them. If it's a tall brunet woman with olive skin and honey brown eyes let her in. If it's not tell whoever it is I'm busy."

Lucy stepped up to the peep hole. Glad she was still in her heels. The woman Alex described was indeed standing there. Danvers knew how to pick them. Lucy took a breath and opened the door, "Hello don't mind me I'm just a friend of Alex's who dropped by unexpectedly she's getting ready but come on in. I'm Lucy Lane by the way."

Sam looked really confused but glanced over to Alex's bedroom and saw her pulling on a shirt. She was momentarily distracted by Alex's muscular back but managed to turn her focus back to Lucy. "Samantha Arias but you can call me Sam." She placed her hand in front of Lucy and the woman shook it firmly. Sam narrowed her eyes, "Finances or business?"

Lucy chuckled, "Neither actually, Lawyer. You."

"CFO of L-Corp. Sorry your hand shake was very reminiscent of some financial advisors I've shaken recently not as cold but just as firm. How did you and Alex meet?"

Lucy glanced over at Alex, "It's a long but rather funny story that involved me arresting her and then helping break her out of government custody."

Sam then looked at Alex who was now making her way over to the women. She gave Sam a quick kiss on the lips, "Yeah it is a rather long story but an interesting one for sure. Lucy you never told me why your back in town?"

Lucy wanted to say something about the quick kiss Alex had given Sam but now wasn't the time. "Well my JAG contract ended, and I decided that I was done with the military life. I put in my time so I chose to retire early. Besides I missed you, Kara and Vasquez too much. Also heard that J'onn stepped down and named you Director. Was wondering if you needed your own Alex Danvers?"

Lucy couldn't have shown up at a better time. She in fact did need an Assistant Director. While Vasquez happily helped Alex with some of those duties, they didn't want the position full time. "Lucy that would be amazing! If I had known you were looking to get out of the military life I would have contacted, you sooner. I know with everything that happened after Myriad you needed to get away. But yes, please come back to the DEO."

Lucy could have made a sarcastic comment about how desperate Alex sounded but decided she would let that one go, "You got it Danvers. Just tell Pam I'll be coming by Friday around 10AM and I'll fill out all necessary paperwork. Speaking of paperwork doesn't Miss Arias here have some paperwork to fill out?"

Alex glared at her best friend, "Shut up Lucy."

Sam watched the easy banter between the friends. Again, another side of Alex Danvers was being reviled to her. Sam wondered if Lucy and Alex had ever had a similar friend with benefits agreement that she and Lena had for the last couple of years. She was almost certain she would like Lucy. However, she needed to find out more about the woman and honestly she didn't mind if Lucy stayed while she filled out this mountain of paperwork.

"Don't tell me this whole stack of paper is for me?"

Alex looked at Sam sheepishly, "If it makes you feel better I have a small stack on top that I have to fill out as well. Most of it is because I brought you to the DEO because Supergirl injured Ruby but also some for not having you fill it out right away."

Lucy was confused, "Supergirl injured a civilian?"

"Yeah my daughter Ruby. It was an accident. She was taking down a rough White Martian and some glass broke, and a piece of the frame hit her head and knocked her out. Alex had been there and saw the whole thing and offered to take care of Ruby at the DEO. That's when I found out she wasn't FBI. That it had been a cover story."

Lucy saw the way Sam looked at Alex and the way Alex looked at Sam. There was no question that something was going on between these two. "How long have you two been together? There is no way Alex Danvers would risk taking civilians to the DEO even if Supergirl is responsible for injuring them unless the civilian in question means something to her."

Leave it to Lucy to figure things out. She didn't have the reputation of the best JAG lawyer in the Army for no reason. "We met about a week and a half ago. Were smitten with each other the moment we laid eyes on each other and I asked her out for a date on Friday, but she couldn't wait to see me again so asked me to meet her for breakfast on Tuesday and I excepted. Brought her lunch at L-Corp later that day. Still had that date Friday and well Saturday the Supergirl incident happened and Sam invited me over for dinner. A thank you for patching up Ruby." Alex turned to Sam then said, "I don't know if I've told you at all since then, but your daughter is pretty awesome and so smart."

"Aw thanks babe." Sam went in to kiss Alex not caring if Lucy was there. She was in no way jealous of the two she just knew Lucy would put the pieces together eventually. Why not help her along, plus kissing Alex was one of her new favorite things.

"Look at you Danvers haven't known the woman for more than 2 weeks and already have yourself a girlfriend." Lucy said playfully. "But seriously though I'm happy you've found someone again. As much as I would love to stay and watch you fill out paperwork I think I'll go and leave you guys to it."

"Oh, you're not going anywhere Lane. It looks like I'm going to be here for a while and I want to hear this story of how you arrested and broke Alex out of custody. Well at least the parts you can tell me."

Lucy looked at Alex with a twinkle in her eye, "I like her Danvers. If you move too fast with this one and it ends badly I will personally kick your ass myself. As highly as you speak of her daughter, for her sake I hope that doesn't happen. Ruby would be a fool not to like you and maybe eventually consider you another parental figure don't want the kids heart to get broken." Lucy walked over to the fridge grabbed a beer opened it and hopped up onto the counter next to the fridge.

"Same goes for you Sam. Break her heart and I will torture you in ways you couldn't even imagine. No marks would be left either, so they would have a hard time telling who or what did it."

Sam looked between Alex and Lucy, slightly bewildered. She finally turned to Alex and asked, "What is it with you two and your methods of torture? Actually, just the torturing in general?"

Alex and Lucy looked at each other and shrugged. Alex spoke first, "It's how I keep Winn in check at the DEO. Remind him who is boss. In your case it's because the person Lucy is protecting is a friend that she doesn't want anything to happen to. In my case it's because she loves me too much to let me hurt myself by falling too hard too fast like I did last time."

Sam could only shake her head. She didn't understand it, but she suspected that it had something to do with the military background and the paramilitary organization Alex worked for. Maybe a little bit of personality their personalities mixed in. "Got it. Quick question and I won't be upset by the answer I'm just curious. Have you two ever hooked up?"

Lucy smirked while Alex looked like the thought had never crossed her mind. "If Danvers hadn't been gently coxed out of the closet by a pretty brunette detective with dimples I would have tried. Once upon a time."

Alex looked at Lucy in shock, "Wait you knew I was gay and never said anything?"

"Danvers trust me if I had known that it would have been as easy as just assuming you liked women I would have tried harder, but Maggie was a good first girlfriend for you. Got you to be comfortable in your own skin. Help you and your mom deal with stuff that you both had been avoiding for a long time. Even though that had been getting better before Maggie came along she definitely helped things improve much quicker. Hell, you were even good for Maggie helped her work through some of her own stuff. Maggie even helped Supergirl realize that her going in and catching the bad guy wasn't always the answer. I'm still upset that it took you being kidnapped and almost drowning for her to realize that she isn't always the best option for keeping people safe, but she definitely learned a valuable lesson."

Alex didn't hear anything else Lucy was saying. She hadn't realized how much Lucy cared. It also sounded like Lucy maybe felt something more for her. That would have to be addressed later. Alex had no intention of breaking things off with Sam. Little did Lucy know Alex had already fallen hard and fast. She was pretty sure Sam had as well but couldn't know for sure. Alex was broken from her thoughts be Sam.

"You've been arrested by Lucy, then she helped rescue you, but you were kidnapped a year later and almost drowned. I might be having second thoughts on dating you Alex. You sound like more trouble than I can handle."

Alex picked up on the sarcasm in Sam's voice, but it had more of a concerned edge to it. "Why don't we get started on this paperwork and Lucy can tell the tale of my arrest. As for my kidnapping that is a story for a later date. Lucy wasn't kidding I did almost die and it would have been Supergirls fault. I don't blame her for it, but it was a very traumatic experience. Consider it a continuation of our conversation from last Friday."

Sam only nodded. She could see the panic building in Alex's eyes from just talking about it. Undoubtedly remembering almost drowning. "We don't ever have to talk about it if you don't want to." Alex took her hand and squeeze it before kissing her knuckles and letting it go.

Alex slid Sam a stack of papers and they both filled out their piles while Lucy told the story of her arresting Alex. When Lucy mentioned CADMUS, Sam stopped what she was doing and glared at Lucy. "You worked for CADMUS?"

"This was before Lillian Luthor took over. Yes, CADMUS has always been about studying aliens not in a nice way either. Which Alex we'll need to talk about that when I get back to the DEO officially. It's part of the reason I came back and that's the other reason I came over, but I hate to say it this paperwork is more important. Because hell hath no fury like a missed deadline with Pam."

Alex laughed with Lucy it was true. They all loved Pam, but she could be scarier than her or Lucy at times. "I think I know where you're going with this and I don't like it as I'm sure you don't either. Does it have anything to do with Maxwell Lord and your dad?"

Lucy sighed heavily, looked down at the floor and took a long pull on her beer, "Yeah but we'll talk more on Friday when I get back to the DEO. Anyway, I caught Alex in a lie about one of her fellow agents and mind you this was before the DEO had a change of heart and started trying to help the aliens that needed it. They still have the dangerous ones locked away because they truly are a danger to society. Back then harboring any known aliens was a federal offense. Alex passed the lie detector with flying colors, but I knew she was lying. We hadn't known each other very well at that point but it was enough that I knew.

"At the time I wasn't fully aware of what project CADMUS was. James told Kara what it was after Kara went to him asking questions. James is my ex and also Superman's best friend. Kara went to Supergirl and asked her to convince me that Alex and the agent she had been covering for didn't deserve to be locked up. They hadn't done anything wrong. I have to skip over some details because they are classified. In the end Supergirl and I broke Alex and that agent out of custody and we've been good friends ever since. Alex and I, Supergirl and I are friendly but definitely not best buddies."

"Well not quite best buddies right after. It took a while. Then Lucy left me to deal with the aftermath of Myriad with J'onn all by my lonesome. I really have missed you Luce. Oh, hey you going to be free for game night on Friday?"

Lucy thought about it for a moment. "I was supposed to meet up with an acquaintance from law school but now that you've given me my job back at the DEO that meeting won't be necessary. Never liked the guy anyway. Was always trying to get me to sleep with him. Even after I kissed Janet Thompson right in front of him. Sam tell me more about you? If you want to that is."

"The short version is I got pregnant at 16, refused to get an abortion, my adopted mother kicked me out because of it. Six months later I had Ruby and hadn't regretted the decision since. Managed to juggle being a single parent and a college student at the same time. Got a job right out of college working in Opal City with an aviation company started in the financial department and worked my way up to head of budget and marketing. Only ran both because they lost the head of marketing right as I got my promotion in the financial department. A few months ago, Lena called and asked if I would become the CFO for L-Corp. Couldn't say no to the only person who hasn't left me since I had Ruby so here I am."

Lucy should be intimidated. She really should but she couldn't be. This woman had worked hard to get where she is all while being a single mother. "Wow. I raise my beer in a toast to you. That couldn't have been easy. Between being a single mom and having to prove yourself amongst pig headed men who think women aren't capable of doing the same job as them."

Sam couldn't help but smile at the compliment, "Thank you Lucy. I take it you've been in similar situations?"

"When your sister is the famed reporter Louise Lane and your father is a 3 stare General in the army which you join because you think it will finally make him proud of you but it doesn't. Just makes him more critical of you and then you have to fight tooth and nail to prove your worth to all of your superiors because they now your Sam Lanes daughter, but they make it harder on you because of that." Lucy paused to take a breath. She hadn't realized she was saying everything in one quick sentence. "Yeah I know all about that. Probably more than you. No offence. Government bureaucracy is a bit different than business, hell even your everyday law office.

"There is more than one reason J'onn promoted Alex. She is good at her job don't get me wrong, but she doesn't take bullshit from people like my father. She even stood up to him twice if I remember correctly. God, I would pay good money to see that man quaking in his boots again. You know Alex I think you are the only human he is genuinely scared of. I mentioned your name the last time we had dinner in Washington and he flinched a little."

Alex couldn't help but smirk. Sam Lane was Lucy's dad, but he was also part of the problem. Alex and J'onn had known he hadn't changed his ways of thinking after Myriad. To know that she had left an impression on him made her feel good. She looked over to see how much more of the stack of papers Sam had to fill out. She only had a small stack left but Sam had stopped. She was looking at Alex with a very concerned look on her face.

"What?"

Sam narrowed her eyes at Alex then turned to look at Lucy, "She can't be that intimidating? Can she?"

It was Alex who answered instead of Lucy, "I'm Alex Danvers the woman who knows how to torture someone with my index finger 6 different ways. Remember who you heard say that the night we met?" Sam nodded her head. "I'm only intimidating when I need to be. Around my girlfriend I drop my work persona. I don't need to intimidate you. You've only seen the serious agent, the kind doctor and my true mushy soft side."

Sam couldn't help but stare, "Alex Danvers the multi sided coin."

Alex smiled, "But I'm your multi sided coin." Alex grabbed the lapel of Sam's blazer and pulled her in for another kiss.

Lucy could only shake her head and smile. While she was sad about the missed opportunity with Alex she was glad to see her friend happy. After a few phone calls from Kara she had come to check on Alex the next opportunity she had. She had never seen Alex Danvers so broken. She had met Maggie twice. The first time was a week after New Year's. She had come into National City to serve papers to a suspect in a money laundering case. She had called Alex to see if she wanted to get drinks. Lucy had told her to bring Maggie if she was available.

The second time was right after Alex had almost died. Lucy canceled any meetings she had for the next 3 days and caught the first flight she could get to National City. Alex had always looked at Maggie with a sense of awe and adoration. What she was seeing with Alex and Sam was no different, but it was different in many ways. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but what she saw had her feeling that this one was going to be forever for Alex.

"You two are such dorks."

"Takes one to know one Lane."

"God, sometimes I forget your friends with James and see him more than you and I talk."

"Now that your back in National City we can change that. I'm finding now how much I've missed you Luce."

God, she had missed Alex. They had become close the two months before she had been reassigned. They kept in touch sporadically via text message or the random phone call. But it never felt the same as it did being in close proximity.

"Same Danvers. You know we could reinstate girls, night just you and me some nights where we will most definitely not talk about work. Then other nights you, Sam, Lena and I should go out. I love your sister Alex but sometimes she is too much."

Alex couldn't help but laugh. She loved her sister but her sunny disposition aggravated her nerves sometimes. "I'll agree with you there. Sam hasn't yet gotten to experience that side of her, but you may see it at game night. Depending on who shows up but with Lucy coming I've got someone to help pick on Winn and James."

"Oh man I've missed picking on them. Friday night is going to be the most fun I've had in a long time. Don't tell Kara I'm coming I want to surprise everyone." Alex gave her a look, "Well assuming I don't run into anyone before then obviously. For National City being so large it can feel small sometimes."

Sam only had a few more papers to sign but she found herself unable to finish. Not because her hand was worn out, but she loved watching Alex interact with her people. Alex hadn't called her as much, but Sam was certain if she had asked Alex she would consider Lucy her best friend. It was refreshing to see Alex so comfortable around someone. She knew Lena and Alex had gotten close, but it couldn't be like this. Lucy was definitely Alex's Lena.

"Now that Lucy is going to be there this might not be as easy as I had hoped."

Alex looked confused, "Sam what are you talking about?"

"Remember how we said Lena and Kara would have a running bet on when we would official be a couple?"

"Yeah?"

"Well Ruby and I just lounged around the house all day Sunday and naturally she had some questions about you, how exactly we met and how we decided we wanted to be a couple. Don't worry I left out a lot. Just gave her the short version. Then she asked how I knew I wanted you to be my girlfriend. She has been there through all my failed attempts at dating and she picked up on how different this was. Besides she has only met 2 people that I have dated. They met Ruby and never returned. Well Ruby came up with her own prediction about when everyone would put two and two together."

Alex let out a deep, deep sigh, "I haven't known your daughter long, but I would be highly surprised if she didn't say that everyone will put it together at game night."

"You guessed it Director. But she also doesn't want us to cheat."

It was Lucy's turn to chime in, "What did Ruby wager?"

Sam laughed, "If she wins she wants to spend an entire Saturday with Alex. Alex coming over for breakfast and we spend the entire morning together. Then she wants to take Alex to lunch. She claims so she can ask you all the questions she wants mostly about Supergirl and some questions about the advanced math and science classes she will be taking. She genuinely seems to want to get to know more about you, so she can figure out exactly what your intentions are with me. Then you both will come back to the house for a family style meal and knowing Ruby a movie to follow after. She really loved having you over for dinner Saturday."

"Sounds like someone else is just as smitten with Alex." Lucy was only mildly jealous of the Arias women. Definitely envious.

"Oh, you have no idea." Sam hadn't been able to get Ruby to stop talking about Alex the whole weekend.

"Please tell me you countered her bet?"

"Of course. If she is wrong she has to clean the living room top to bottom for a whole month. Her idea not mine."

Wow a kid who had guts. Sounded like Ruby was so sure of her mom and Alex loosing. Having spent a couple of hours with Sam and Alex she was 95% sure Ruby would win the bet. "Well Sam I haven't known you for more than two hours. Yes, I have known Alex for a few years, but even if I didn't I would be a fool to not pick up on how restrained you two are right now. Alex you've been squirming in your seat almost all night. It calmed down a bit when Sam kissed you, but the squirming has started again.

"Sam you keep looking at Alex like she is some kind of snack. So yeah, I think Ruby is going to win this one even without my help. But then again, the only smart one in the room will be Lena. James and Winn can't pick up on social ques very well. James definitely better than Winn but still both of them completely oblivious. Kara isn't even aware that Lena has feelings for her, so she won't notice as much as you thing she would."

Alex didn't think so, but she also wasn't worried about game night. She knew she and Sam could pull this off. She wanted Ruby to win her bet and deep down she knew Sam did to. "My only question is why didn't you mention this Monday when I brought you lunch?"

"I wanted to try and keep things as authentic as possible. Plus, Lena was there and yes, I know she left to make a phone call. Now that the mischievous Lucy Lane has come into play I didn't think I could risk not telling you."

"While I am normally a mischievous person I am all for you and Alex keeping up appearances but at the same time would it be a bad thing if Ruby won? I promise I won't do anything to let on that you and Alex are most definitely together but if Lena asks me I won't lie to the woman. I might lie to Kara cuz let's face it that will be too much fun to pass up. Obviously, I'll lie to James and Winn."

Alex had made up her mind, "Lucy is right. Lena is going to be the hardest to fool out of all of them. So, let's just see what happens." Alex got out of her seat and spun Sam around, so she would be facing her. She put both her hands on the side of Sam's seat. She leaned in close enough to kiss her, "Would it be so bad if Ruby won. I mean a day spent with my 2 favorite women wouldn't be so bad." She leaned in the rest of the way and captured Sam's lips between hers.

Sam pulled away needing some air, "Sounds like the only option we have, and I could think of worse ways to spend a Saturday."

Lucy could only shake her head at the two women. She hopped off the counter and made her way to the door. "I think that is my que to leave. Have a good night ladies I'll see you Friday." Lucy was about to shut the door but decided she needed to get in on the action. "I want to make my own prediction about Friday night."

Sam groaned in mild frustration as did Alex, "What's your bet and what do you want out of it if you win?" Alex asked begrudgingly.

"Lena is going to call you out within the first two hours and I want to use your fancy alien gun on my first field mission back."

"It's a deal."

"Wow hadn't expected you to agree to that so easily Danvers. But that means no cheating. Do everything you can to make it look like the two of you aren't dating but nothing over the top. If Lena hasn't called you out within the first two hours, then I will set up and pay for your first date out somewhere that isn't someone's house."

It was Sam's turn to agree to this bet, "We definitely have a deal Lucy. Nice meeting you by the way. I'll talk to Alex and Lena about setting up a girls night for the four of us."

"Sounds good. I'll see you Friday Danvers unless something changes before then."

"Got it. Goodnight Lucy." Once Lucy had shut the door Alex turned all her attention on Sam. "Are we really that obvious?"

"According to Lucy and Ruby I guess so. Lena just knows that I like you. A lot. Friday night is going to be interesting that's for sure. I think Lucy and Ruby are going to both win this bet and I'm honestly ok with that. Lena and Kara are the only ones I don't want to win in this situation. Now if you'll excuse me I have about 2 dozen more papers to sign then I need to get home. I have another meeting to prep for."

Alex begrudgingly let her go back to filling out the paperwork. Once Sam had filled out every last paper Alex walked her down to her car gave her a kiss good night and told her she would pick her up Friday night at 6:30.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to get published. I just wasn't in the mood to write. Can't make any promises for consistent posts either. I have one maybe two more chapters completely written for this story and I've been at a stand still for those but I wont completely let this story go. It may just be a very long time before I complete it.**

Sam walked into her office at L-Corp the following morning looking tired as hell. So tired in fact she hadn't notice Lena sitting on the couch in her office. Once she had it startled her to the point of almost screaming. "Jesus, Lena are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Lena snickered, "No that wasn't my intent. I figured you would have seen me sitting here when you walked in, but it looks like someone didn't get much sleep last night. Might a particular DEO agent have anything to do with that?" Lena raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Sam shot Lena a death glare. "It was nothing like that. I went to Alex's to fill out that paperwork for Pam and Lucy Lane had stopped by before I got there to hang out with Alex and she stayed while Alex and I filled out the endless amount of forms and gave me some insight into their friendship.

"It was my fault I asked her to stay. Any chance I can get to learn more about Alex I'm not going to pass up. Did you know that Lucy arrested Alex for treason and then broke her out when Kara had Supergirl convince Lucy that they didn't deserve to be locked up?"

"I knew Lucy and Alex had gotten off to a rocky start according to Kara but didn't know it was because she had arrested Alex. But to here Alex and Kara talk about Lucy now you wouldn't think anything of the sort had ever happened. I'm glad you got to know more about Alex. Speaking of Alex, she stopped by 5 minutes before you got here with this." Lena handed her a coffee cup and a sealed envelope, "That's why I was in your office. Oh, and to tell you our meeting with Randle Melvin has been canceled. He's in the hospital with a nasty virus of some sort. I sent flowers over from L-Corp."

Sam took a sip of her coffee. She couldn't help but smile. Alex had remembered her order from last Tuesday. "It's a shame about Randle. He is one of our business partners I enjoy having meetings with. I think I'll send him some flowers from me as well."

Sam opened the envelop that Alex had left with the coffee.

 _Sorry last night kept you out so late. I honestly had no idea Lucy was back in town and would be coming over. Enjoy the coffee and I can't wait to see you Friday._

Sam couldn't help the goofy grin that spread across her face. She knew Lena was smiling her mischievous grin. "What?"

"You really are smitten, and I think the agent is as well. I saw how you two were looking at each other on Monday it has only intensified since you met each other at the bar. I know you said you were going to take things slow and I'm guessing a run in with Supergirl made things move a little quicker than you would have like them to."

"Things are great. Honestly, I can't wait for us to go out on an actual date. I'm excited for game night because I can't wait to get to know everyone else some more. But damn what I wouldn't give to see Alex in a nice dress or suit if that's more her style. As for the Supergirl incident. Yeah that moved things a bit faster in the meeting Ruby department but I'm glad Alex was there and was able to take care of Ruby. I invited Alex over to the house that night for dinner as a thank you. That was when I told Ruby who Alex was.

"She was so happy. Alex has had me smiling a lot lately and Ruby had definitely picked up on it. She is just as smitten as I am. Alex has definitely gotten Ruby's stamp of approval whenever we take things to the next level."

"Oh, I don't think you'll have to wait long for that to happen."

Sam quirked an eyebrow at her best friend, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you two have gotten close rather quickly. I know you said you wanted to take things slow, but I don't see you being able to hold out much longer. Alex is a beautiful woman, charming and very sweet. You aren't going to be able to resist much longer. At least judging by the looks the two of you shared on Monday when you didn't think I was looking. And if that wasn't enough the goofy grin Alex had on her face this morning would be enough to convince me."

"I think Alex and I still have time before we are ready to make this a thing. Even though it seems everyone else around us approves I've got more than my heart on the line. Even though Ruby whole heartedly approves of Alex and I dating I want to keep Ruby from getting hurt. If we move to quickly that could happen. What if things didn't end amicably with Alex? Ruby would be heartbroken that she couldn't see Alex anymore. Because she is that smitten."

"I'm sorry for agitating you Sam that was never my intent. I know Ruby will always be your top priority all I'm saying is I don't think you have to worry about Alex so if you wanted to let her become a part of your world it wouldn't be a bad thing, you deserve to be happy. I know you stayed single because no one wanted an instant family and you got tired of laying your heart on the line just to have it broken again and again."

Sam felt bad for snapping at Lena. Most of that had to do with the fact that she did stay at Alex's long after she had finished signing her stack of papers. "I know you weren't Lena and I'm sorry I reacted that way. Just sleep deprived. I've honestly been thinking about what my future would be like with Alex Danvers in it and I can't think about it for too long because it seems too good to be true. She's one of a kind Lena and I don't want to lose that chance. So slow, well as slow as the universe will let us at this point, is how I'm going to go at this."

"Ok I'll lay off the Alex Danvers talk but if you don't make a move in a few weeks I will be badgering you until you do." Lena dramatically got off the couch and walked out of the office. She suspected there was more going on than Sam was letting on, but she would get her confirmation at game night for sure.

Alex dropped the stack of papers on Pam's desk. Including the ones, she had picked up from Lena this morning. "You'll find everything is signed in triplicate. I even went through and sorted it all for you. Did you get my email about Lucy being reinstated as a member of the DEO?"

Pam looked over the piles of paper and found that Alex had indeed sorted all the papers appropriately she nodded at her with approval. "Yes, I did receive your email about Miss Lane. She's coming back and will officially be listed as your Assistant Director as of this afternoon. I'm sure we still have her picture on file or Winn can find one from her last military ID and we can get all her appropriate badges and what not left at the security desk."

"Sounds good Pam. If I missed anything in that stack of papers you know where to find me."

Alex made her way to central command glad she found Winn at his station. She had asked him to run a background check on Chester Watson. She hadn't heard anything from him about it since she came back from lunch with Sam and Lena on Monday. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Hey, Winn did you ever find anything on Chester Watson?"

"They guy that wasted four hours of Sam and Lena's time? No, I'm still running his picture through some software to see if he used prosthetics to disguise himself but no hits yet. The thing that is the strangest about this guy is I found no background info on him at all. With just that alone I would say he is hiding something, and his name probably isn't really Chester."

Winn then brought up the picture that had been taken for his temporary pass into L-Corp. This was the first time Alex had really been able to study the picture. There was something about the man that looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "Winn bring up the security footage we got from L-Corp."

Winn did as he was instructed. She watched the various frames that Chester walked through. She rewound one of the clips and played it back. She repeated this process over and over a few times. That walk she had seen it several times before, but it wasn't until the last run through of the clip that she saw it. There was no mistaking that smirk. "Fuck."

Winn hadn't exactly been paying attention to what Alex was doing he was rather surprised to hear that word come out of her mouth so loudly at work. At game night when she had a little too much to drink and lost at Mario Kart sure but not at work as the Director. "What is it Alex?" That was when he saw her face. She looked scared. Which in turn worried him more than he cared to let anyone know.

"Winn take that off the main screen." She hissed at him. Once he complied, she leaned in closer and whispered, "Do we have a picture of Maxwell Lord on file? If not, can you pull one up and run one against the image of Chester and see if it comes up as a match?"

Winn didn't need to say anything he punched a few keys on his keyboard and he ran the images through the program and it didn't take long for a match to come back. He turned to Alex who looked like this was the last thing she wanted on her plate. He didn't have time to ask any questions because Alex was on the phone.

 _Hey, can you meet me at L-Corp in twenty? I'll explain when I get there. I'll call Sam and Lena and let them know to expect you in case I'm running late._

"Winn don't tell anyone about this. Not until we know what it means. I'm going to be gone for most of the morning if anything major comes up that requires my attention run it by Vasquez first and they'll call me if I'm needed."

Winn gave her a salute as she walked toward Pam's office. Alex knocked on the door before entering, "Pam I'm on my way to L-Corp for a DEO matter and Lucy is meeting me there I was wondering if you had…" Before Alex could finish her sentence, Pam handed her a manila folder with the papers Lucy would need to sign and her badges for the DEO. "Are you sure you aren't a psychic?"

"If I was do you think I would let you know?"

That left Alex with a lot of questions but now wasn't the time to worry about that. Maxwell Lord was back, and she wanted to get on this as soon as possible. If it was true that Max was working for CADMUS with Sam Lane they were in trouble.

When she reached Sam's office Lucy had definitely beat her there. Sam and Lena looked confused. "I know you guys are confused and you have every right to be. Before we can go any further, Lucy fill these out please." Alex pulled out papers from the folder Pam had handed her. Lucy signed them happily when she got to the bottom of the stack, she looked confused. She read over the papers quickly. She chuckled and handed one copy to Lena and the other to Sam, "These are for you."

Alex walked over to Sam and read the form. "Pam is giving you security clearance for the DEO. I know this doesn't give you access to more than some low-level encrypted files and what most of us would consider mundane government info." Alex looked to Lucy, "Why would Pam do this?"

Lucy had no intention of telling Alex that when she saw her father with Lillian and Jeremiah in DC that she had heard Sam's name come up. Then it didn't mean anything to her now it meant so much more. Sam had dated Max in college and that wasn't Lucy's info to share. Alex had reasons to be afraid of Max coming back on the scene and Sam had her own reasons to be afraid of Max.

"Alex will you trust me if I tell you that it isn't my story to tell and if you brought us all here for the reason, I think you did Pam is just taking precautions." Lucy turned to face Lena and Sam, "Sam just sign the papers its nothing bad I promise and Lena I'm assuming yours are just upping your already high security clearance with the DEO. Alex can't legally discuss any of what she's about to without either of you signing those."

Lena and Sam did as they were asked, and Alex just looked at Lucy questioningly. Lucy handed Alex all of the signed documents and Alex started speaking, "Sam you asked me to look into Chester Watson and see if I could find anything. Winn had been running the image from his temporary ID through some software since Monday and hadn't come up with anything.

"When I first saw his picture something about it looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. I watched some of the security footage of him walking through the building and it wasn't until the footage of him walking from the conference room came up that I knew something wasn't right. That I knew who this man was, but I had to be sure before I threw his name out."

Alex turned her laptop around and let the ladies watch the footage. Lucy and Sam put it all together fairly quickly and a few seconds later it was Lena who spoke. "Please don't tell me that is Maxwell Lord?"

"The one and the same. I believe he wants whatever technology Stanton is working on."

Shit just hit the fan. Lucy knew things were about to get crazy for all of them particularly Sam and Alex if Max caught wind of them being together. Max wasn't too fond of Alex because she had humiliated him by holding him hostage for months and then refused to date him. She wasn't sure exactly what had happened with Sam and Max but what little she was able to find it hadn't ended well either and she suspected Max would hold a grudge with her as well.

But she wasn't going to bring any of that up yet. If she could help it, she needed Alex and Sam to discuss those parts of their lives with each other and if anything needed to happen protection wise Lucy would make sure they stayed safe. "Sam, Lena do you have any insight into the technology Max would want from Stanton?"

Sam walked over to her desk and printed off what the CEO of Stanton Tech had sent her about the new technology they wanted L-Corp to invest in. "This is everything Parker Stanton sent me. It talks about a weapon that can change its ammunition based on what it is fighting. But it's all non-lethal."

"When Sam first sent me that email, I was skeptical that it could work. I reached out to Parker myself to get some more detailed plans. What Parker sent over is revolutionary and if we had been able to invest in this technology, I was going to contact the DEO. I know you guys are looking for less dangerous ways of fighting aliens and the few rouge humans that come along. But it would appear Max is back on the scene and may have snatched this opportunity away from us." Lena would be lying if she thought Max wasn't connected to CADMUS in some way now. Until she got confirmation she would hold off on panicking.

Alex and Lucy exchanged worried glances. "Lucy you have to tell them."

Before Lucy could speak Lena did it for her, "Max is working for CADMUS isn't he?"

"Winn will have to get confirmation for us but yes I believe Max is working with them. As is my father. Someone close to my father came to me a while ago and told me they had reason to believe my father was working with Maxwell Lord and CADMUS. The CADMUS part didn't surprise me. The fact that he was working with Max did. It shouldn't have given everything that happened after Myriad and before."

She glared at Alex. Alex crossed her arms over her chest and then pointed a finger at Lucy, "I still stand by my decision to lock that bastard up. I know it makes my life a little harder now but he almost outed Supergirl. I swore to protect her, and it was the only way I could think of at the time. I most certainly wasn't going to let him blackmail me into dating him." Alex shivered at that last statement.

Sam knew she would need to talk to Alex at some point about her relationship with Max and how it had ended. She knew Max hated her. If he was holding a grudge against Alex and he found out they were together their lives would be in danger. "Lucy tell us what you know so far of CADMUS and their plans."

"That's the thing I don't know much other than Lillian, Jeremiah and my dad were all having lunch at my dad's favorite whiskey bar in DC. That's when I took my informants word seriously. I did some digging and couldn't find anything about recent CADMUS activities. They've been laying low. If any of their past movements are anything to go on, they are planning something big."

That isn't what any of them wanted to hear but they knew it was true. "Alex, Lena can you give me and Sam a minute I need to talk to her alone about something."

Alex looked confused Lena less so. Which didn't surprise Lucy if Sam really was her best friend she knew about Max and Sam's relationship. Alex gave one last glance at the pair before she and Lena left the office.

Once the door was closed Sam turned to Lucy, "You want to know about my relationship with Max, don't you?"

"Yeah I do. Max's distaste for Alex isn't enough to put her directly in harm's way. I mean because of her connection with Supergirl she's always going to be a target but if things ended bad enough that Max has a score to settle with you and he finds out about Alex you're in trouble. When I was at Alex's the other night it took everything in me not to react to your name. Because I knew things were about to become hell for you. I was hoping you were just a friend of Alex's.

"When I saw them in DC before I could get out of the room, I heard your name come out of Max's mouth. It didn't come out nicely either. I haven't said anything to Alex because it isn't my story to tell. I also don't know much just that you dated your junior and senior year of college and for a few months after. The tabloid I found the article in only said you had split didn't give a reason why."

Sam started pacing. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to tell Alex about her relationship with Max for a while. It wasn't one of her brightest moments in her brief dating history. Max had been a charmer and she fell for it. He had even stuck around after she had mentioned Ruby. He had never been able to meet her because of crazy schedules and classes. Sam thought he was the one until Max started to change.

"Thank you for not saying anything to Alex and I'll need to tell her everything. Although I had hoped it could wait a little while longer. Also, your acting skills are amazing didn't even register that you would know my name.

"No things didn't end well. Max was furious. He had asked me to marry him. I would have said yes except I had overheard a conversation with him and one of his head researchers. Max only wanted me for my body and my intellectual abilities. He was perfectly willing to play the part of father to Ruby if it meant he had me to help put his company on the map. So yeah if he is mad in any way at Alex and he finds out about us he will come after her.

"Max can hold a grudge for a long time. If Alex humiliated him like you said she did he'll do terrible things to get back at her. But it will hurt me in the process. Let's hope that he is more focused on helping Lillian get rid of all the aliens and not hurting me."

"You mentioned Max wanted you for your intellectual abilities? What do you mean by that?"

Sam let out a slow, steadying breath, "I'm a genius. I don't like to go throwing that information out there it put enough of a target on my back in high school before I got pregnant. Patricia my adopted mother wanted me to have as normal of a life as possible and refused to let me move up any grades or graduate early. After I had Ruby, I kept up the ruse. I wanted Ruby to have as normal of a life as possible, so I played down how smart I was.

"Max of course saw how fast I worked through our advanced physics and various advanced math courses. I should have seen right through him, but I was young and so naive. Starved for attention too."

"Sounds like he might try to take you to potentially help with CADMUS business. But he would know that you wouldn't go willingly. Ok I'll get back to the DEO and fill in everyone there that needs to know about the latest CADMUS threat. If it can be done have Jess clear your schedule for the rest of the day. You need to tell Alex everything ASAP."

"Given the situation I don't think it will be hard to get things moved around. Thanks, Lucy, for not telling Alex about Max."

"No problem Sam. I really hope we're overthinking this whole thing and Max won't be a threat to you, Alex and Ruby. Alex has just started being her old self again. I don't want Max to ruin this for her or for you. I really do like you Sam and I think the two of you will be amazing together."

Lucy left Sam's office before any tears could fall. It was true she really did want Sam and Alex to make it. Alex was finally happy and if any of her friends deserved to be happy it was Alex Danvers dammit. Between having to protect Kara's identity and the constant disapproval from her mother over the years she deserved to finally have a happy life. She called Alex and told her she was headed back to the DEO and that she would have the appropriate people get on the new threat. Also, that she wasn't to report back to the DEO until she had talked to Sam.


	8. Chapter 8

Lena lead Alex to the secret lab. Why did Lucy want to talk to Sam alone and why had Lena looked like she knew what Lucy and Sam were going to talk about. "Lena what is going on?"

"Alex out of respect for Sam I can't tell you what she and Lucy are talking about. All I can tell you is it probably has to do with the time Sam and Max dated."

Alex couldn't hold back her shock, "Wait Sam and Max dated?"

"Yeah they dated Sam's junior and senior year of college but that is all I'm going to tell you. But it's nothing to worry about. Just something she needs to tell you herself."

"Your right but I'm just afraid that my history with Max could put Sam and Ruby in danger especially if he finds out I'm interested in Sam and things didn't end well with them and he has a grudge with her too. Not to mention he could out Kara. Then it would make it easier for Clark to be found out as well. God this whole situation is just a mess. Talk to me about something other than this CADMUS mess. Any luck on updating Kara's suit?"

Lena spent the next 20 minutes telling Alex that she had finally figured out a way to fabricate a thread from the harun-el with a lead core. Kara would no longer be weakened by kryptonite and the harun-el would also give her a slight boost in powers. If all of Lena's initial tests were accurate. She still needed to test it with Kara at the DEO, once she had completely finished the suit, but she was confident in her research. Lena was about to go into an explination of how she had been able to create more of the harun-el but Alex's cell rang.

"That was Lucy we can go back into Sam's office."

Alex and Lena walked into the office to find Sam talking to Jess. "Clear my schedule for the rest of the day. I know the meeting with the accountant can't wait but Lena should be able to take care of that while I deal with a more pressing matter."

Jess walked out and started the task of moving things around on Sam's schedule. Sam looked at Alex and saw concern and a little bit of fear. That wasn't good. "Lena I know I don't need to explain why I need to take the rest of the day off but if you could at least handle the meeting with the accountant I should be able to take care of everything else at a later date."

"Yes, that will be fine, you and Alex need to talk. Take her to your place and let me know if you need me to pick Ruby up from camp. I would be more than happy to do it."

"Hopefully that won't be necessary but I'll let you know."

Sam took Alex's hand and lead her to the elevator. Once the doors had closed Sam spoke, "How mad are you?"

"I'm not mad. Sam we just started this. The only reason you know so much about Maggie is because she was literal baggage that would have kept us from moving forward. Would I have liked to take you out on a few dates first before I told you all that? Absolutely but mix a pretty girl that makes me feel safe with alcohol and I can't control the words that tumble out of my mouth. I know now wasn't exactly the time you wanted to be talking about Max either but this is where we're at. I don't know what you're going to tell me about Max but I have a feeling that it isn't going to make our lives easy."

"Considering you locked him up without just cause and pissed him off probably not. God I still can't believe I dated that creep."

"Since we both have the rest of the day off why don't we talk about this somewhere that isn't either of our places?"

"That actually sounds great. What did you have in mind?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out. Dress comfortably and you may want to put your hair up. I'll pick you up at your place in an hour. On my bike."

"I like the sound of that Director."

"Ok I'll see you in an hour."

Alex made a quick call to Lucy and explained that she was leaving her in charge for the rest of the day. She knew with Vasquez being there everything would be fine but told Lucy to call J'onn if she did need back up. She called the Martian just to give him a heads up and fill him in on the current situation. Thankfully she had taken her spare helmet from the DEO along with her backpack when she left this morning.

She stopped at the deli not far from Sam's house and bought a few things to eat for lunch. She had no idea how long she and Sam would be gone but knew it would be well into lunch time before they would be back in the city.

Alex had barely pulled into the driveway when Sam was coming out the door. She was wearing boots, dark skinny jeans and a leather jacket. Hair pulled up into a messy bun. Alex was beginning to wonder if Sam looked bad in anything she wore. Alex didn't dare take her helmet off. She handed Sam her helmet and motioned for her to put it on. Then handed her the backpack.

Through the helmet's comms Alex told Sam that she might have been followed. She was going to do what she could to throw off the trail so she better hold on tight. Alex went in the opposite direction that she needed to go just to confirm her suspitions. That's when she saw it. A very non descript black sedan. Except the person driving it was making it very obvious that he was watching the ladies. Alex wanted to pull up to the vehicle and tell the guy he was doing a horrible job at making sure his mark didn't make him. But that wasn't exactly safe.

"Was that black sedan the tail?"

"Yeah, I think he knows we made him but I'm not going to take any chances. Hold on tight."

Alex sped away and rounded the next left turn going faster than she would have liked with a passenger. She was hoping instinct would kick in for Sam from her days of competitive riding and it did. Alex looked in one of the rear view mirrors to find the sedan hot on her tail. It took 15 minutes of maneuvering through various side streets and a few allyways before Alex lost him.

She called into the DEO and gave Winn a description of the guy, the car and the liscense plate number. She knew they wouldn't come up with anything but it was worth a shot. She and Sam rode for another hour before they were out of the city. Eventually they made it to Alex's favorite place outside of the city.

She lead Sam up a path that lead them to a cliff. When Alex started making her way down the cliff face on what looked like a very precarious ledge Sam wouldn't follow. "Are you afraid of heights?"

"No, it's that ledge. It doesn't look big enough for someone to walk on."

Alex couldn't help but chuckle, "Sam I promise it is safe I do this all the time. If it would make you feel better I'll bring up the rear. It gets wider in about 4 feet. Trust me it's going to be ok. I wouldn't bring you somewhere that could kill you."

"Ok fine." Sam walked on the ledge and Alex was right it only looked smaller from her original vantage point. It was still smaller than Sam would have liked but eventually they made it to a little alcove that they could sit in and look over National City.

Sam didn't want to waste any time telling Alex about her past with Max, "There isn't really much to tell in the tale of Max and I, we dated my junior and senior year of college. He was very charming back then or it had been a façade the whole time I don't know. He was the first person I had told about Ruby who didn't run.

"About a month before Ruby's birthday I heard him talking to one of his head researchers in one of his labs about me and it wasn't good. I should have punched him in the face to let him know I had heard everything then and there. But he had mentioned something about proposing so I wanted to wait until that happened before I called him out for using me.

"Max is a very intellectually gifted man. You Alex are a very intellectually gifted woman. That is one of the reasons he tried to woo you as well. Max is attracted first and foremost to how smart a woman is. If she passes that part of his checklist next is her body. They have to be pretty enough before he'll even consider coming near you in a sexual manner. You and I both fit those categories. But it doesn't matter how pretty you are if you don't have the brains to go along with a smoking body as Max likes to put it. If the body is all you have going for you the best you could get would be few nights in his bed before he tossed you to the curb."

Alex was confused again. Was Sam trying to tell her that she was smart? Maybe even smarter than her and Lena combined? "Are you trying to tell me what I think you are?"

"If you're thinking I'm a genius then yes that's what I'm trying to tell you. My adopted mother Patricia wanted me to have as normal of a life as I could. I could have graduated high school when I was 14. Most days I'm grateful for it but then there are days that I think if she had let me graduate when I was 14 I wouldn't have gotten pregnant and my life would be very different now.

"Don't think for a second that I regret having Ruby. But early on those thoughts would go through my head constantly. When I had first met Max the thoughts went away but came back with a vengeance after I heard how the only reason he was with me was because of how smart I was and as he liked to tell any of his friends who would listen 'how hot my naked body was'. When I first heard those words I was hurt. Max had seemed like he genuinely cared about me and Ruby. I know why he never mentioned Ruby to any of his friends and there was a time it hurt but now I'm grateful he never did. Kept her out of the spotlight and thankfully our schedules were so crazy he never met her.

"I had been to a few fundraising events for his company in the two years that we were together and after the first I was all the press could talk about in regards to the most elegible bachelor in the country. Who was this mysterious woman that Max had brought to this event. Luckily I kept a pretty low profile and they couldn't dig up any info on me. To this day it suprises me that they never did find out about Ruby. Maybe Lena payed them off? Whatever it doesn't matter.

"The day Max proposed I let him have it. Thankfully I didn't have to wait more than a week after hearing everything he said about me to his researcher. I said a lot of not nice things and I know I pissed him off but I got lucky that he left me alone after that. But it would now appear that he was just waiting for the right moment to pounce."

So, Max was after Sam for her brains. Something Alex hadn't even known about her. Here she was dating a genius and didn't even know it. Not that it mattered. Alex liked Sam for her personality not her brains. To find out that may have been the only reason Max had wanted anything to do with her just made her skin crawl.

"So how smart are we talking Sam. I honestly don't care that you're a genius. It's cool and all but doesn't matter to me. I'm only asking because it might help with determining how Max will play his cards."

"I can solve complex equasions in minutes mostly in my head. Scientific formulas, physics and other mathematical things are child's play."

"Does Ruby know?"

"She knows I'm smart but not genius level. I had several years to practice not being as smart as I truly am so it comes easily."

"You never told me you were adopted. I guess that is one thing our mothers had in common. When Kara came to live with us my mom wanted her to have as normal of a life as possible. She came from a family of scientific and mathematical geniuses and given the situation of how she came to live with us my mom wanted her to have as normal of a life as possible. Looking back on it now my mom may have been able to let up a little on some things but ultimately I think Kara is better off for it.

"In addition to being geniuses they also had a very interesting lifestyle that most people aren't used to. It was all she had known so trying to teach her about, at the time, what was considered a normal lifestyle was the hardest part. But Kara has done ok with herself and I wouldn't trade having her as my sister for anything. But I wish my mom and my dad, while he was still there, let her at least take college credits while we were seniors."

Maybe she and Kara would have to have to take time out of their busy schedules to get to know each other a bit better. She remembered from their night at the bar that Kara was adopted. She had no idea that she had been asked to hide her intellectual abilities too.

"Patricia adopted me when I was a few months old. Never did find out who my birth parents were. I have no desire too. My adoption is the main reason I kept Ruby. Even though Patrica and Earl loved me I always felt abandoned. That became another reality when I got pregnant with Ruby. If my dad had still been alive I think he would have fought hard to keep me at the house. But since he wasn't around Patrica kicked me out. It was that night on my front porch that I made a vow to Ruby that I wouldn't abandon her and would never force her to hold back in anything she did."

Sam was full of surprises. Alex was only falling harder for her. "Well I will say you seem to be doing an excellent job of it so far. Ruby is also lucky to have you as a mom and well Patricia is the one who has lost out on the chance to know a pretty amazing granddaughter. I'm assuming she and Ruby have never met?"

"Not face to face. I did send her a picture that a nurse was kind enough to take of me holding Ruby after she was born. Then another one when she was eating her cake at her first birthday. It had just been Lena, Ruby and myself that celebrated. Ruby was surrounded by people who loved her that was better than a gigantic party that she would never remember. Speaking of birthday's Ruby's is coming up in 2 weeks you and Lucy are coming to this whether you like it or not. I don't think I can handle a house full of teenage girls by myself." Sam saw Alex's face turn into a grimace. "Don't worry Lena and Kara are going to be there as well. It's only going to be 8 teenagers. I just know I won't be able to do it without you."

If things went as well as she thought they would with Sam she would have to get used to a bunch of teenagers at some point. "Ok fine. I mean between my bubbly puppy dog like sister and my badass DEO Director self we should be able to keep the teenagers rangled. Between Lena and I who do you think is going to get the better birthday present for Ruby?"

Sam put her head in her hands, "Why does everything you all do have to be a competition?"

Alex shrugged her shoulders, "What can I say we are competitive people."

Sam was sure game night was going to be a nightmare but in a good way. "You probably will. Not that Lena's present will be terrible something tells me you might have a better understanding of what my 13 year old will want on her birthday than Lena."

'Wow! Now the pressure really is on. Speaking of competitions, we have to let everyone in on the fact that we're dating. Especially considering how things might turn out with Max. But I want to let Ruby win her bet and if we can pull it off Lucy to lose hers."

"So, for two hours we have to act like we haven't been dating for two weeks. That's going to be so hard. My hands always gravitate toward you and we won't even talk about the restraint it takes for me to not kiss you."

"Maybe I should come over to your place early and we can get a quick make out session in before we have to leave for Kara's."

"I like the way you think Director. Even though it makes us sound like horny teenagers."

God Alex loved it when she called her Director. She leaned over and captured Sam's lips between her own and simply savored the moment. Tomorrow night was going to be a much needed calm before the on coming storm. This time CADMUS wasn't going to go into hiding. This time they were going down. It wouldn't be without a fight and inevitably loss of life. Alex just hoped it wouldn't be too many DEO agents that lost their lives. They had already lost too many in the fight against CADMUS.


	9. Chapter 9

Thursday afternoon a package arrived at the DEO for Alex. The head of security thankfully was working the desk today. The DEO didn't get many good packages delivered at the security desk but some of the new security guys still hadn't learned protocol for packages delivered through the front door. David on the other hand did and he brought the package straight to Lucy.

Lucy had just finished a training session with the new recruits when she saw David walking toward her with a package. With a quick glance at the package Lucy froze. This package came from either CADMUS or Maxwell Lord. Honestly, she was hoping it was the former. If it was the later there was no telling what was in that package. She motioned for David to follow her to a room they had set aside for situations just like this. As soon as David had gently set the package on the table and safely exited Lucy called Lena.

Jess answered the phone which wasn't a good sign. Lena was probably in a meeting, but Lucy needed Lena on this. After several attempts at playing nice guy she threatened the poor girl and felt horrible about it, but she needed to speak with Lena and knew she couldn't mention the DEO to her secretary because Jess hadn't been given security clearance like Lena had. She didn't feel bad for long because she could have mentioned the DEO and then she would have a huge stack of papers to sign in triplicate from Pam.

"Lucy whatever this is had better be good. Sam and I are in the middle of a merge deal that is going to be the biggest deal L-Corp has landed for the year."

"I figured when Jess wouldn't let me talk to you. I know we hardly know each other but Alex was delivered a package about 15 minutes ago and it either came from CADMUS or Maxwell Lord. I haven't opened it yet because I don't know what we'll find in there and I don't trust anyone here to help. Especially if it came from Max."

"I'll be over in 20. Sam's gonna hate me but if it means keeping the woman, she is smitten with safe then she'll forgive me."

After Lena hung up, she called the security desk and told David to personally escort Lena Luthor to the containment room he had just left. Then she called Vasquez and asked them to forward any calls for her to Alex once she was done with the president and if Alex asked where she was to tell her she was working on a special project.

While she waited for Lena to arrive, she started inspecting what she could of the package without touching it. She noticed that the design in the paper was interesting. She couldn't make it out with her eyes, but it looked like the lines of the pattern weren't lines at all. She looked around and found a magnifying glass and confirmed her suspicions. The letters or numbers were too small for her to make out still. She would have to wait for Lena to get here to inspect those further.

Lena walked back into the conference room and apologized to everyone in the room and asked Sam to step out in the hallway for a minute.

"You're going to hate me but that was Alex on the phone and an issue came up at the DEO that she needs my help on immediately. We've got this merge in the bag all that has to happen is the last bit of negotiations and then the signing of paperwork. The lawyers are going to be doing most of that, so you've got this. I wouldn't leave if it wasn't absolutely necessary and I know I'll owe you big time."

Lena watched as Sam studied her. If she hadn't lied and said that Alex had needed her Sam would have been suspicious. The one thing she hadn't expected to see Sam display was genuine worry.

"Alex is ok right?"

If Lena wasn't mistaken Sam sounded genuinely worried. Even if Sam wasn't attracted to Alex she would be justified because Alex is the first-person Sam has formed a friendship with that wasn't Lena and Sam needed someone else in her corner besides Lena. For Sam's sake she hoped they both realized how they felt about the other person pretty quick. Or at least in enough time for her to win the bet she had going against Kara.

"No Alex is fine. One of her agents came across something that she needs my expertise on. On the off chance the phones are bugged she didn't go into detail on the phone so there is no telling what it is, but she sounded desperate."

"Ok I'll see you later then. As soon as this cat is in the bag, I'll call you. Tell Alex I said hello and for the love of god stay safe. I don't know if this thing you're dealing with is dangerous but take every type of precaution you can. I know Alex's job can be dangerous sometimes."

Lena nodded and walked away. She didn't bother calling her driver. She went to the parking garage and took the only vehicle that she felt comfortable driving in and made her way to the DEO. She had decided long ago that a discreet vehicle was needed in case she had to go somewhere without a driver. As soon as she sat in the driver's seat of the Honda Civic, she took her hair out of its immaculate bun and let it flow freely. She also changed out of her business attire and into something most people would never catch her dead in. Jeans, graphic tee and leather jacket. The finishing touch was a pair of stylish sunglasses.

She arrived at the DEO 10 minutes later and David was escorting her to Lucy. She had never needed an escort since her first time coming to the facility but if Lucy was as worried as she had sounded on the phone then the escort made sense. David lead her toward the labs but instead of walking into them the went past them. Lena had never been past the labs. She didn't think her clearance level would allow it which would now explain the escort. David rounded a corner adjacent to Alex's lab and stopped at a door that looked to be made of a material that would stop the highest grade of armor piercing rounds.

Lena opened the door and immediately took in the package and knew it was from Max. Lucy hadn't noticed that she had entered the room yet. She was staring at the package with such intensity that she could give Kara a run for her money in the heat vision department. She also reminded her of Alex. They both had the same intensity when studying a new thing. Well in Lucy's case a thing that could potentially destroy her best friend.

Lena knew Lucy and Alex had a history. Not of the romantic variety although she could see Lucy and Alex as a couple but that was beside the point. "Do we know for sure this is from Max?"

Lena had startled Lucy and it took a minute for her to regain her composure. "I don't but no one in Alex's life that I'm aware of would send her anything at the DEO and if they did the package wouldn't look like this."

Lena had to agree. If anyone in Alex's life was crazy enough to send her something at the DEO it wouldn't look like this. Honestly no one in her personal life would ever send her something at the DEO. If this package was from Max did, they know for a fact that it was intended for Alex.

That was what scared Lena the most. Since Lucy had revealed that Max was now a potential threat, they had to consider that this package could be a way to send Sam a message. "Have you x-rayed it or run any scans?"

"No that's why I called you. I'm just a soldier this kind of thing isn't in my realm of expertise. Before you say anything, I am well aware that I have dozens of agents that could help me with this, but this is Alex we're talking about. I don't trust anyone except Winn and Vasquez with information in regard to her and they are needed elsewhere. Besides if this package is really from Max you might be able to pick up on things they wouldn't."

Lena heard the desperation in her voice. She and Lena had only just met and because of Alex were friends by extension. Standing here with Lucy now hearing her explain why she had called Lena instead of using any of the agents she had at her disposal made Lena feel the gravity of the situation. Not just for Lucy but for her as well. Alex was the one person that linked her knew found family together. Without Alex they would be nothing.

Lena walked over to Lucy and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She hadn't expected to find Lucy shaking. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"It doesn't matter now. I lost my chance 2 years ago. Alex is my best friend and you know as well as I do that out of our entire group of friends, she deserves a happy ending. Sure, there was a time when I wanted that to be me, but Sam is better for her. If they can get over themselves and realize they are head over heels for each other."

Lena couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, "They'll realize soon enough. Enough of the deep talk let's see what we've got here."

"I don't know what it is exactly but the lines in the patterns aren't lines but a string of letters and possibly numbers."

Lena picked up the magnifying glass Lucy had been using earlier. She saw what Lucy was talking about and couldn't decipher what it was either. "We'll need to use the fancy microscope Alex has in her lab, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a code of some sort. Which would be a good indicator that it is from Max."

Lucy ran a hand through her hair, "Well that will have to wait until we find out what the contents are and if this thing is even safe to open. Let's scan it and see what we're dealing with."

The scan was going to take at least 45 minutes maybe longer. They couldn't leave the room, so Lucy figured now was a good time to get to know Lena Luthor better and pick her brain about Sam.

"I haven't really had a chance to talk with Alex since I've been back. What's the deal with her and Sam?"

Lena couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, "They are 100% smitten with each other but determined to take things slow. Which as far as Alex is concerned, I get. She went way to fast with Maggie and she wants to take her time with Sam. Which as Sam's friend I appreciate more than Alex knows. It's been just Sam and Ruby for the entirety of Ruby's life. Her daughter will always be her number one priority.

"She did love Max and thought he was going to be the man she married and started a family with. But he had been playing her the whole time and was never really interested in her. Ever since then she has only been on a handful of dates and eventually gave up entirely. Stating that Ruby and I were all the family she needed.

"I knew that was a load of BS, but I never pushed. I had faith that someone would come along and sweep her off her feet. I never expected that person to be Alex Danvers, but it makes sense. Alex is the lesbian version of a knight in shining armor. Sam isn't a damsel in distress, but she screams lost soul without trying. I've noticed Alex has a soft spot for the lost ones."

Lucy had never thought of Alex as a knight in shining armor, but it was true. Alex was a hero by nature. If you said anything to her about it, she would deny it fervently. Alex liked to think of herself as a simple individual who loved science, engineering and spending time with her alien sister.

"I don't know Sam at all really, but I do know Alex and the one intimate interaction I had with them spoke volumes. They are definitely smitten with each other. I know that they are perfect for each other. I wouldn't say Sam is lost but I get where you're going with that. Sam has been at a loss for what to do as far as her love life goes so, she just gave up and then Alex came along and swept her off her feet."

"I'm finding that I like you very much Lucy Lane and wish you had come back sooner."

"Honestly, same. I've missed this crazy ragtag group of misfits and sorry I wasn't there for Alex when everything was going down with Maggie."

Lucy was about to ask Lena for some inside info on that whole situation, but the scanner beeped indicating that it had finished its job. "Let's see what we're dealing with here."

Lena and Lucy walked over to the computer and looked at the scans. Nothing looked off about what they were looking at. The package looked empty from what the scanner could pick up. Except for a dark rectangle on the bottom of the box. They looked at each other and decided they had no reason not to open the package.

They knew they needed to do this part carefully because of their suspicions about the paper on the outside. Once they had removed the paper and set it aside, they opened the box. It contained a tablet and a note. The note read, "Hello my dearest Samantha and Alexandra, we need to talk." It was signed Maxwell Lord.

Lucy and Lena looked worried, but they wouldn't know what was going to happen until Alex and Sam talked to Max, but Lucy did know she was going to lock that tablet in a lead lined case and they would turn it on out in the middle of nowhere just in case Max was trying to access some files from the DEO.

"So, who should we tell about this first Sam or Alex?"

Lena contemplated their options and there was only one. "I'll call Jess and tell her to clear Sam's schedule for the rest of the day. You go get Alex and we'll pick Sam up at L-Corp and go from there.

Lucy agreed that was the best option. She left Lena in the containment room and went to the supply room to grab a case for the tablet and then made her way to Alex. Her gut was telling her things were about to get interesting and she never wanted to run from a situation more than she did now.


	10. Chapter 10

Lucy didn't have to go as far as Alex's office to find her. She was in central command going over some intel with Vasquez. Hopefully it wasn't anything too important. Lucy walked up to Alex and tapped on her shoulder. Once Alex had turned around, she motioned for her to lean in closer to her. "Director Danvers your presence is requested in containment room zero." Lucy whispered as quietly as she could. She could see Alex stiffen out of the corner of her eye.

"Vasquez put any useful information into a file on my secure server and I'll review your findings later." She started walking toward containment room zero with Lucy close behind her. Once they were past the labs, she asked Lucy what was going on?

"A package was delivered to the front desk for you about 2 hours ago. David brought it straight to me. Once my eyes landed on the package, I suspected it was from Max. I didn't trust anyone else to help with the package, so I called Lena. We found a few things that can't wait."

Alex opened the door to the containment room and saw Lena standing there looking at a large piece of paper. Alex couldn't tell what was so fascinating about it from this distance put guessed it had something to do with the package Max had sent and Lena was so engrossed in studying it she hadn't heard them enter.

It was Lucy who walked up to her and got her attention, "Find anything useful yet?"

Lena jumped at Lucy's voice. She hadn't realized Lucy had come back with Alex. "I was trying to see if there was anything behind the pattern choice. It would appear that it's just a random geometric pattern. I got ahold of Sam and she's terrified that something has happened to Alex. I'm having my driver bring her here."

At the mention of Sam's name Alex became alarmed. "Why do we have to bring Sam into the middle of this. Max sent this package to me. I think it we serve our best interests if we didn't involve Sam in this. Why put her in any unnecessary danger?"

Lucy and Lena didn't like this anymore than Alex did. Lucy went over to the desk and picked up the note that was included with the tablet. She handed it to Alex and waited for her to read it. Lucy watched as some of the color drained from her friend's face.

"Max wants to talk to both of us?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he has it out for both of you. Or either of you. Hell, this is Maxwell Lord we're talking about. He may throw us a curve ball and want us to help break him out of CADMUS. I know it's a far-fetched idea that is hanging onto a pray by a very thin thread, but it could happen. I don't think we'll fully understand what we're dealing with until we figure out what is hidden in those lines on the paper the package was wrapped in. I hate that I'm even saying this, but I think that part of the package was meant for Sam."

Alex didn't like this one bit, but she guessed they didn't have a choice. "How long before Sam gets here?"

"Ten minutes maybe."

"Ok, Lena go get the microscope out of my lab. You're going to need the higher magnification that has to properly look at whatever is on that paper. If you think he'll be helpful get Winn. We can trust him. I'm going to meet Sam and escort her here personally."

"Alex fair warning she might think something had happened to you."

"Why would she think that Lena?"

"I had to step out of a meeting to tell Sam that I would be heading to the DEO to help you with something that needed my expertise. She was worried that something had happened to you and I reassured her that you were fine, just needed my help on something that was time sensitive. When I called her back and told her to meet Lloyd in the parking garage, she was very worried that something had happened to you. I told her you were fine and that what we had been working on had to do with Max, but I don't think she believed me."

Alex ran a hand through her hair. Great Lena had gotten Sam worried that something terrible had happened to her. She simply nodded and walked out of the containment room and made her way to Vasquez before heading to the front desk. "I'm sure Lucy has filled you in enough on the situation we are dealing with so if I ask you to field all of our calls and any other issues, you'll know what to do?"

"Yes ma'am. Unless the DEO is under direct attack, I'll leave you two alone to deal with whatever it is Max sent you."

"Vas you're a good agent and an even better friend." Alex walked away before she could get a response from them. Not that she would have gotten a response inside the DEO Vas kept things very professional inside the DEO. Many of the agents knew they were friends with the director and now assistant director, but they knew no favoritism was being played because Vas kept everything very professional which meant that she and Lucy had an easier time keeping it that way.

She walked up to the security desk and found David reading a book. It was his favorite way to pass time when he was running the front security desk. Today he was reading the latest John Grisham thriller. Alex sat next to him and he only looked up from his book long enough to see who it was that had sat next to him.

"Let me guess you're here to personally escort Miss Arias to the containment room?"

"Yes I am."

"Does Pam even know that you have a civilian coming into the DEO that hasn't exactly been authorized to enter the building? I know whatever that package that was delivered to you is the reason she is here. Don't worry director I'm just putting the pieces together. Lena shows up not long after I give the package to Lucy and Lucy calls me an hour later and asks me to escort a Samantha Arias to the containment room. I'm just assuming all of this is related but if Pam doesn't know about this, she's going to have a fit."

At that moment Sam walked in looking worried as hell. Hopefully Alex would be able to calm her down and whatever Max had in store for them wouldn't make her worry more. "I like keeping Pam on her toes. Do I like filling out the paperwork no but at least I keep Pam busy." Alex left a chuckling David at the security desk to approach Sam. The look of relief Sam had upon seeing Alex meant that Lena was right she had been worried that something had happened to her. Alex wanted nothing more than to kiss her and reassure her everything was fine. But given the amount of security cameras she didn't want to risk it. She gave her a quick but firm hug and lead her toward the containment room.

The second Sam entered the containment room she knew something was wrong. Once she laid eyes on the paper that she suspected had been wrapped around the package that had gotten Lucy so worried she began to panic. She had seen it before and knew the lines held a code. Only a code she could decipher.

"What was inside the package?"

Lucy looked at Sam and didn't like the fear she saw in her eyes. Lucy had hoped this wouldn't turn out to be anything more than Max just trying to scare them or at the very least make their lives harder.

"There was a note and a tablet." Lucy handed the note to Sam.

Sam read the note, "Hello my dearest Samantha and Alexandra, we need to talk." She couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine. She had always hated it when Max called her Samantha. He had always made it sound degrading. She crumpled the note and threw it across the room.

She walked over to the table, stood next to Lucy and looked at the paper the package had been wrapped in. "Have you guys done anything to the paper other than take it off the package?"

"We carefully removed it and magnified the patterns to reveal that the lines hold a code of some sort."

"Did you happen to take pictures of the package before you removed the paper?"

Lucy slid her tablet over to Sam. She watched as Sam looked over the images. Lucy was hopping Sam would relax a little after looking over the images she took but they only made her tense up even more. Now it was Lucy's turn to be scared.

"Sam what's going on?"

Sam lifted her head and looked directly at Lucy. She knew exactly what this was about, and she couldn't trust anyone with this information. She didn't even want to let Alex in on this secret that she has kept for the last 8 years. If Max hadn't requested to speak to her and Alex, she would have talked to him alone or in the very least with Lucy. She didn't want to be the only one in on this secret, but she would rather it wasn't Alex. Only to keep her safe.

Without breaking eye contact she spoke to Lucy, "You and Lena need to leave this room and try your best to forget about everything you've seen."

Lena and Lucy exchanged looks but it was Lena who spoke first, "Like hell we're leaving when this clearly involves Maxwell Lord. We don't even know what he wants exactly."

Sam watched as the wheels started turning in Lena's head but this time it was Lucy who spoke, "You know exactly what this is about and what Max wants."

"I do. If he hadn't requested to speak to Alex and I, I would have asked Lena and Alex to leave. This is something that the DEO needs to be in on but I would rather not involve Alex. I know I don't know you well Lucy but this is information I would trust you to keep a secret. Since Max has requested to speak to Alex and I specifically I have to involve Alex and keep you and Lena in the dark."

Alex didn't like the sound of this at all, but she saw how serious Sam was being which wasn't normal behavior for her. She had no choice but to follow the request. "Lucy, you and I know just how crazy Max can get. I have no idea what has Sam so scared but I respect it."

Lucy was pissed. She hoped Alex was using her head as the director of the DEO not as Sam's girlfriend. "Fine but if you think for a second Director that this needs to involve more than just you and Sam you know who to call."

Alex got the not so subtle hint from Lucy. She was telling her that she needed to be the Director of the DEO right now. Not Sam's girlfriend. She gave Lucy a nod and watched her leave with Lena.

Once the door was shut and locked Alex opened the case Lucy had secured the tablet in and turned it on. After a few minutes the screen flickered, and Max popped up on the screen.

"What do you want Max?"

"Well hello to you to Samantha. How's Ruby?"

Lucy and Lena left the containment room completely baffled. What was Sam hiding that had her scared for more than one person at the DEO to know. "Do you have any idea what Sam knows that she doesn't want to tell anyone about?"

"No but I'm assuming it has something to do with one of his projects she helped him with while they were dating. Sam might know more about it than Max and now he needs that info. If it isn't that then I have no idea."

Lucy sat heavily in her chair at her station in central command. "Damn, I was really hoping you would have an idea of what she's hiding. I know Sam is your friend but how much do you trust her?" She could see Lena didn't like that question and she knew it came out wrong so she backpaddled as quickly as she could.

"I didn't mean it that way. Obviously, you trust her more than you trust Alex or even Kara. What I should have started with was how much do you know about her time with Maxwell Lord and do you trust that she didn't get mixed up in something that could be considered treason?"

Lena had to think about Sam's time with Max. She knew that Sam had worked for him while in school to help pay for Ruby's daycare. She knew Sam had helped him with several different projects but as far as she knew they weren't out of the ordinary.

"I don't know the specifics of what they had worked on but if Sam had sensed that any of his projects were going to be used for nefarious purposes, she would have contacted the appropriate people."

Lena still sounded agitated. Which Lucy could understand. Sam was Lena's oldest friend and Lucy was new on the scene and it sounded like she was attacking Sam and by association Lena.

"Look Lena I'm sorry if it seems like I'm attacking you and Sam. I promise I'm not. I just know how Max operates. I am also coming at this objectively I don't know Sam as well as you do, and Alex doesn't even know her that well I just want to make sure we're keeping any possibility open. Hell, Lena Max could have done some kind of conditioning to Sam's brain and this package could have triggered it."

Lena deflated a little. She hadn't even thought of that as a possibility and she wouldn't put it past Max to do just that. She sunk into the chair next to Lucy. "For all our sakes I hope he hasn't."

Lucy was just about to check in on the desert base when she saw Alex walking toward her. Alex didn't look like herself and that wasn't a good sign.

"Lucy, I need you back in the containment room. Lena I'm sorry but you'll have to stay out here."

Lucy followed Alex. She still had no clue as to what was going on, but she had a feeling she would soon get answers.

"Don't keep me waiting ladies. Especially you Samantha."

Max terminated the connection and all that was left was a black screen. Sam stared at the tablet. She knew what Max wanted the moment she walked into this room. She wasn't going to give it to him, and she knew Alex wasn't going to turn over the alien hostages he wanted. She needed to explain everything to Alex, but it would take time. She hadn't looked at Alex since Lucy and Lena left the room, she was worried that Alex would see her differently and never want to see her again. She turned her head to finally look at her girlfriend and she was a little worried.

Alex had on the face of the Director of the DEO and Sam wasn't sure what that meant in this situation. "Alex, I want to tell you everything, but it will take time. Which I know we don't have a lot of, but I think we should get Lucy in on this situation. It has gone farther than just Max wanting the missing piece to the formula. I've never heard of the alien species he wants you to hand over, but they sound dangerous."

"Yeah I think that would be a good idea. This doesn't just involve us. It involves CADMUS and Lucy's dad was the last person Max was seen with in person. She's been keeping tabs on her father since we stopped myriad. She doesn't know that I know. I'm going to get her and then we can all talk."

Sam watched Alex walk out the door and she wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand she held a lot of cards in her hand as far as Max was concerned. On the other she wasn't sure what this meant for her and Alex. She paced the room while she waited for Alex to return with Lucy. What was probably only minutes felt like an eternity.

Sam stopped the moment the door opened, and Alex walked in with Lucy. Alex still had her director stance and stone-cold features, but she did stand next to Sam which had to count for something. Lucy stood on the opposite side of the table. Taking a deep breath with her hands on her hips Lucy asked, "What exactly are we dealing with ladies?"

Sam still wasn't a fan of anyone other than herself and Alex being privy to this information about Max, but it had to be done. Sam scanned the paper the package had been wrapped in as quickly as she could. She was looking for a specific molecular strand of the formula. It took her a minute, but she found it.

Pointing to that specific spot she began explaining what it was Max was doing. "This is what Max is ultimately after. This isn't just a random geometric pattern. It is the molecular map of a serum Max was trying to formulate for humans that he could never get to stabilize. I figured out the problem late one night.

"I was never as good at the science part as he was, but I knew enough to know what his reports and notes were talking about. I did all of the mathematical parts of developing the serum. He knew that there were two compounds that weren't playing nice which meant the serum was unpredictable. We knew the compounds were in fact compatible with each other but upon combining it with the other ingredients they weren't playing nice anymore. I figured out the exact amount of each of these ingredients plus another compound that would make the whole serum work."

Lucy had since changed her stance to that of arms folded across her chest and looking confused as hell. "What exactly was he trying to create?"

"He was trying to create a solution to the problem of aliens being superior to humans. The serum would have given the person more strength but not superhuman strength and a few different abilities. You wouldn't know what the abilities would be until you injected the human."

Alex was still trying to wrap her head around all of this. How exactly could they have created this 8 years ago? She had so many questions for Sam but those would have to wait. "As a bioengineer I have so many questions that I don't even know where to begin but thank god you didn't give him that part of the formula. The DEO's job the last 8 years would have been much more difficult."

Lucy felt like she was the only one in the room that didn't fully understand what was going on. At least as far as the science was concerned. "From a military standpoint I get how this would have been a complete shit show but how did the human determine which ability or abilities they got? Does it have something to do with DNA?"

For the first time since entering the room again Alex looked at Sam. She had this childlike excitement in her eyes. This was a topic Alex could talk about until she was blue in the face. As much as she wanted to let her explain the semantics of what was going on, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to impress her either. Even if there was a chance Alex wouldn't want anything to do with her anymore after all this.

"Yes, it has everything to do with DNA. Much like certain people are more susceptible to different diseases because of their DNA background, the serum will have different effects on people based on that same principle."

The worry had officially set in for Lucy. This was information that CADMUS didn't need to get their hands on. They already had access to some government resources because of her father.

"So clearly Max is working with CADMUS. We can't let them get their hands on this information. I'm sure they would be able to figure it out on their own, but it could take years. Alex do you think your father would be able to figure out the missing piece of the puzzle or is this not up his alley?"

Alex had to think about it. He probably could but she wouldn't have a way of knowing for sure without looking at the rest of the serum's ingredients. "I know my mother would be able to figure it out, but she doesn't work for CADMUS thank god. Without knowing what is in the serum I can't say for sure if my dad could figure it out quicker than anyone else in the same field. He's smart but not genius level like Sam. I should also tell you that Max demanded we give him those two aliens that tried to kill you before you went back to the army life."

Now Lucy was back to being angry. "Like hell is he getting his hands on those two assholes. CADMUS wouldn't be able to control them anyway. The first thing hell boy would do is try to finish the job he started on me last time. Still don't know how exactly I pissed him off when you were the one that shot at him."

Alex wanted to laugh but managed to contain it. The whole situation had been funny after they had saved Lucy but wasn't during the fact. "I wouldn't recommend it either but if we aren't going to give Max the info, he needs to complete the serum we would have to give him something. I hate that I'm saying that but after talking to him today I wouldn't put it past him to come after me or Ruby to get back at Sam. He's more pissed that Sam betrayed him and is now dating me. His last attempt at getting is ideal trophy wife."

"Well there is no way we'll solve this today. We'll come back tomorrow and figure something out. I'll also need to talk to Pam about Sam getting clearance to the building and your lab."

"Why my lab? I've got things in there that Pam would never offer that level of clearance for."

Sam had no idea what was happening. "Why would I need access to the DEO and Alex's lab?"

"You have now officially become a part of the DEO. You know more about Max than anyone here and can give us some insight into how he thinks. We need to figure out a way to actually capture the bastard, my father and put CADMUS down once and for all. I'm tired of them making life hell because they can't play nice with aliens and alien supporters.

"As far as the access to Alex's lab, you need a place to work and I don't want you to have to camp out in one of the conference rooms. Alex's lab would give you privacy."

Sam's head was spinning things were getting crazy and she wasn't sure how she felt about all of this but for now she would have to deal with it she guessed. "This isn't going to interfere with my job at L-Corp is it?"

"It shouldn't until we figure out exactly what our plan of attack is no. I would say things should stay relatively normal for you until we make our move, but I have no way of knowing for sure."

"We'll have to tell Lena everything then or at least what she needs to know. If I'm going to be spending a considerable amount of time from my duties as CFO, she needs to know what is going on."

"Oh, shit I hadn't even thought about that. I'll sit on everything and get back to you." Lucy shook her head this has become a bigger problem than any of them wanted right now. Sam looked terrified and for good reason. Her life was about to get complicated because of Maxwell Lord. "I'm going to go to Pam and get the paperwork started. We'll figure this out tomorrow."

Lucy started walking out of the room but turned around once she reached the door. "Actually, let's talk on Saturday. We have game night tomorrow and we aren't going to soil what is guaranteed to be a good time."

Sam watched Lucy leave. She was about to say something to Alex, but her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Ruby. It was well past the time she was supposed to pick her up from school. She answered and told Ruby she would be there soon. Alex escorted her to the lobby and Sam tried to find words to apologize but Alex was being uncharacteristically quiet. As she got into her car, she was sure that she had officially lost Alex.


	11. Chapter 11

Alex walked through the door of her apartment feeling mentally drained. Everything Sam had reviled about the project she had helped Max with was a game changer for CADMUS and they couldn't let Max get the info he wanted. Alex was perfectly willing to let him have the aliens he wanted if it meant he wouldn't get his hands on the missing piece of the formula.

Sam had to pick up Ruby from school, but Alex had caught her before she walked out the door and asked her to come by her place around 7pm so they could talk. Alex sensed Sam was afraid that this secret she had kept was going to push them apart. While Alex did have a lot of questions about the project and why Sam hadn't said anything, she wasn't going to leave Sam because of it.

She wanted Sam to come by so she could reassure her that she wasn't going anywhere and to ask some questions. Alex had uncharacteristically decided she would cook herself dinner as a distraction from watching the clock. Waiting for Sam to show up. Maggie had shown her the simplest mac and cheese recipe that she had successfully cooked under Maggie's supervision several times and she happened to have the ingredients needed to make it. She knew she couldn't just eat mac and cheese, so she rummaged through her freezer and found a microwave bag of seasoned broccoli and some chicken breasts. She had just finished defrosting the chicken when there was a knock on her door.

Alex looked through the peep hole and found Sam. She wasn't surprised Sam had arrived 30 minutes earlier than the suggested arrival time. She had sensed her nervousness ever since she walked back into the containment room. Alex opened the door and motioned for Sam to come in. She looked scared and Alex hated that she thought she was going to leave her. Alex was about to say something to reassure her that she wasn't going anywhere but Sam had started nervous rambling.

"I know today came as a shock to you. The project and my involvement with it. That I knew what Max wanted to do with the formula once we had cracked the exact ratios. I was only thinking of myself and Ruby. I thought that Max had changed from his old ways of only sleeping with bimbos and that he actually cared about Ruby and I, of a potential future out of wondering where our next meal or where her new pair of shoes would come from because she had outgrown the last pair quicker than I had anticipated."

Alex just listened as Sam went on with all of the reasons why she had made the choices that she had. She watched as Sam walked all over her apartment while explaining all of this because standing still was too much. Alex listened until she couldn't anymore. Just like the night Sam had come here for the first time Alex could only think of one way to stop the rambling. The next time Sam passed by her she grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.

She kissed Sam in a way that left the other woman breathless. When Alex pulled away Sam looked shocked and confused. Alex couldn't help but laugh which only pissed Sam off which made Alex laugh harder.

"What do you find so funny Danvers?"

Once Alex had regained her composure, she pulled Sam back toward her. Placing a hand on her cheek, she gently kissed her girlfriend. She pulled away and looked into Sam's gorgeous honey brown eyes and said, "It takes more than Maxwell Lord to scare me away Arias. I'm not going anywhere."

It took Sam a minute to process what Alex had said. She wasn't going to leave her. Sam couldn't help what happened next, she threw her arms around Alex and held her as tightly as her arms would let her. It was in this moment that she realized why the thought of Alex wanting to leave her because of what she had done with Max was too much.

Alex was stable. Something she hadn't realized that she needed. She had only known Alex for a few weeks at this point, but she knew Alex was someone she could count on. Someone that wouldn't run when the going got tough. She had always known that but after today she wasn't so sure anymore. It felt good to have the reassurance that Alex wasn't going anywhere.

Except today it got tough and she for sure thought Alex was going to run. But she was still here, still willing to be a part of Sam's and Ruby's life despite her poor choice in men when she was younger. "You sure you don't want to run for the hills Danvers?"

"No, I think I'm good. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I've been too busy worrying that my girlfriend was going to leave me."

"Still don't know how you thought that you keeping secrets about your project with Max would have been cause for me to leave you but that doesn't matter anymore. Mac and cheese, chicken and broccoli is on the menu that work for you?'

Alex was pointing to what appeared to be a counter full of ingredients which had Sam worried. From what Lena had told her and through insinuations from Alex herself the woman was a horrible cook. "You sure that's a good idea?"

Alex mocked being offended and went to the kitchen and started boiling the water for the macaroni. "If I didn't know that Lena has told you how horrible I am in the kitchen I would be highly offended. This is about the only thing I can cook that isn't breakfast food. Maggie taught me how to make the mac and cheese which is very simple and practically fool proof. Have a seat and we can start discussing our plan of attack while I make dinner. Do you want anything to drink? I've got beer in the fridge, some wine and water."

"Don't worry about it just point me to the glasses and I'll open a bottle of wine."

Alex pointed out the cabinet with the wine glasses and the drawer that held the corkscrew. Sam selected a bottle and poured them both a glass and settled into one of the bar stools across from Alex. "Before we start discussing our plan of attack, I know you have a lot of questions. Ask me anything you want."

"I don't even know where to begin. I know he wanted you for your brains…I guess that train of thought leads me to my first question when did you start working for Max? I know you dated him your junior and senior year, but you never did say when you started to work for him."

"I started working for him a few weeks after the beginning of spring semester my sophomore year. He had admired my genius in class and ran into me at my waitressing job that night. He told me I was too smart to be working as a waitress at a dinner. Offered me a job on the spot. I was barely making ends meet and was lucky enough that the woman who was watching Ruby had been in the same situation at my age with her son that she never charged me for watching Ruby when I was in class or working.

"I tried to pay her back when my first paycheck from Lord Tech came in. She wouldn't take it. Told me to put it in savings or use it to get something nice for myself. It ended up being the first deposit I made into a college fund for Ruby. Once I got out of college and landed my first corporate job I did go back and repay her. She still refused to take the money, but I told her why she deserved it and she took it I've been sending her Ruby's school pictures with updates about our life every Christmas. I should probably go back to Metropolis and visit her. Ruby remembers bits and pieces of her time with her and it would be nice for them to see each other in person again."

Sam took another sip of her wine and watched Alex cook. If no one had told her Alex was horrible in the kitchen she wouldn't have been able to guess it with what she was seeing now. Clearly this was a dish Alex knew how to make. Sam shook her head, "Sorry I got off on a tangent. Everything always seems to go back to Ruby."

Alex smiled at Sam. She had answered her question and the one she hadn't asked which was how they had started dating. Based on what Sam had already told her about why Max had wanted to date her in the first place Alex put the pieces together. As far as her past with Ruby it was more info into Sam's life and it only gave Alex more reasons to love Sam and the strong independent woman she had become.

"You don't ever have to apologize about talking about your life. I am still amazed at how you managed to raise such an amazing daughter while going to school and working full time. When I was still thinking of adopting on my own, I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to do it. Which is when I tried to quit and got promoted instead."

Sam was shocked that Alex had tried to quit because she was going to attempt to adopt a child on her own. She admired the woman for it and briefly thought what it would be like to raise a child with Alex, but she quickly brushed those thoughts away that would be many years into the future if things continued to go well for them.

"That's why you were trying to quit the DEO. You were thinking of adopting a child and trying out the single parenting life. If it helps, I think you would have done an outstanding job. Are you still thinking of adopting or is that on the back burner?"

Alex was glad someone thought she would have been able to do it on her own. Kara hadn't been convinced. She was excited by the fact that she would become an aunt and have a niece or nephew to spoil but she wasn't sold on the idea that Alex would be able to do it alone.

"I'm glad you think I would have done an outstanding job. It means a lot considering Kara didn't think I was up to the task. As far as adopting goes it's on the backburner for now. I was given a case worker and with my job at the DEO they didn't feel comfortable approving me for adoption or even foster care. I was pissed when they first told me but now having had time to reflect it was the right decision.

"Ok dinner is served let's go out on the balcony. It's a nice night and I know I said we would discuss our plan of attack against Max but let's just table that conversation until tomorrow morning."

"I like the sound of that." Sam took their glasses of wine and brought the bottle as well. She set them down on the table and was stunned by the great view Alex had of the city. She sat down in the chair opposite Alex and appreciated the view, the nice night and the fact that she still had Alex. She was still beating herself up a little for even entertaining the idea that Alex would leave her.

She turned to look at Alex who was also appreciating the view of the city or maybe contemplating today's events. Either way it didn't matter. "It's quite a view you have here. I imagine you pay a pretty penny for it."

Alex snorted, "It definitely isn't cheap but probably not as much as you think. I know this part of town can get a little on the pricey side, but I've been the easiest tenant for the landlord in the 6 years that I've lived here that he's given me a good discount."

"I've never heard of a landlord doing that. Must be because your hardly ever home."

"Probably has something to do with it. I've only called him twice and that was 3 years ago. I only had to call him twice because the repair man that came out to fix the issue with the fireplace didn't and almost managed to blow up the building. Now that I think about it when I went to renew my lease 8 months later that's when my rent dropped and hasn't gone back up. I know for a fact the price has been raised on this style of unit because my neighbor across the hall has been complaining about it for months. Anyway, that doesn't matter let's eat before it gets too cold."

Sam picked up her plate and took a bite. She was surprised at how good it was. "Maggie taught you well. This is delicious Alex."

"It's about the only thing I can cook that isn't breakfast related. Pancakes and waffles are my specialty. Scrambled eggs I'm getting better at. My dad taught me everything I know about breakfast food, but I've been researching different techniques for scrambled eggs and I've picked up a thing or two."

The only time Alex had mentioned her father was when she talked about him betraying her and J'onn. Sam had guessed that was a touchy subject for Alex and she hadn't ever asked anything about either of her parents. Sam had briefly talked about Patricia but there wasn't much to tell on that front anyway.

"Don't let Ruby find out that you are good at making pancakes. They happen to be her favorite of all the breakfast foods. Usually on Saturdays I make us pancakes. It's a long-standing Arias tradition. On the rare occasion I have to do a little work on Saturday morning we'll have them on Sunday. If she finds out, you can make pancakes well she'll probably organize a competition between us, and I wouldn't put it past her to say yours are the best she has ever had."

Alex grinned at Sam the thought of getting to make the Arias women breakfast was almost too much to think about. She did love the idea though. She hoped one day in the not too distant future she would be able to. "I wouldn't take the criticism too hard. Your lasagna is the best I've ever had, and I thought my moms was the best until that night. Maggie who is an expert home cook never made lasagna that good. Coincidentally it's my favorite home cooked meal. So, I could be the queen of pancakes in this relationship and you could be the queen of lasagna and probably most other home cooked meals."

Sam couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Things were still too early for Sam to be thinking of a future with Alex, but she liked the thought of Saturday mornings waking up next to Alex and following her downstairs and watching her fix breakfast for them and Ruby. She shook those thoughts from her head and focused on what was happening now. "I think I would be ok with that. Lucy asked you earlier about your dad being able to figure out what the missing piece of the formula was. You mentioned that your mom would probably be able to figure it out fairly quickly, but your dad would need a break down of the ingredients of the formula to be able to figure it out, but it would still take him awhile. How smart is your family?"

Since finding out that her dad worked for CADMUS and was willing to betray her, she wasn't too keen on talking about him. Sam didn't know any of the finer details about that whole situation or her life before she had thought her father was dead.

"We're pretty smart people. My mom is one of the leading bioengineers in the country, but she also specializes in genetics. My dad specialized in alien DNA, specifically kryptonian DNA, but he did study other aliens as well. He taught me almost everything I know about science and genetics. Mom was who I learned math from until Kara entered the picture and dad was gone. Then I was on my own.

"I don't think my mom meant for it to happen, but it did. She was so consumed by Kara being ok that she forgot about me. Forgot that I had lost my father, the only person on the planet who I had formed a connection with at that point. Everything became about Kara. It's like she completely forgot that I still needed to be assured that I was important. That I still mattered. That I needed to be reassured about life just as much as Kara did. I'd imagine that you feel about the same way. Your adoptive mother dismisses you once she finds out your pregnant."

Sam had no idea that Alex had essentially raised herself during her high school career. She knew Eliza had been hard on Alex but hadn't known that it went that far. She felt for Alex. She had clearly had a connection with her father and lost him at a young age. Kara's wellbeing had been at the forefront of her mother's mind which wasn't good but made sense. Alex's protective nature had come in when Kara had become her sister.

She hadn't seen Kara and Alex interact since the night she first met them. But she was getting to know Alex and she would be lying if she said she didn't pick up on some things that are still affecting Alex's life because of decisions her mother had made when she had needed her most.

"I think you turned out ok considering everything. Who did you hate more during that time your mother or your new sister?"

No one had ever asked her that. She set her plate down, picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. She leaned her head back against the wall behind her chair and really thought about it. "Before my father 'died' I didn't hate Kara I hated that my mom made it my life's mission to keep Kara safe and make sure she was able to live as normal a life as possible. All while still keeping my grades up. After my father 'died' my mother's sole focus was Kara's well-being and that is when I hated my mother the most. I never really hated Kara. I resented her for taking all my mother's attention. My mother and I never really understood each other, and I think it was because we are too much alike. If you ask her today, she would say I'm the best parts of her and my father and I wouldn't disagree. As a kid my dad was the only one who could understand how my mind worked so we were very close. When he was suddenly gone my mother didn't know how to handle me because she didn't understand me the way my father did.

"I know I bring her up more than I should, but Maggie really did help me deal with a lot of those issues. I know I've told you this before but until Maggie brought it up, I held on to that hatred far too long. We aren't ever going to have the perfect mother daughter relationship but we're getting better. Do you think your mother will ever come back into your life?"

"I really can't answer that. I've thought about it over the years and I've never been able to give a definitive answer. If she did show up randomly one day, I wouldn't turn her away, but she wouldn't be able to see Ruby until I knew she wasn't going to leave. Ruby would be heartbroken if Patricia came back into our lives only to leave again. Which is part of the reason I've was picky about who I dated and why I waited as long as I could before introducing them to Ruby. Until you. You came in my life and changed everything."

"You've changed mine too you know. It's crazy to think we've only known each other for a couple of weeks and how crazy things have gotten but I wouldn't change any of it for the world."

Now that Alex had said it Sam thought about everything that had transpired in her life since meeting Alex Danvers. It had truly been crazy. The worst of it happening today but she trusted Alex and Lucy to make this bump in the road to go away as quickly and easily as possible. She still hated that they had to involve Lucy in all this and potentially Lena.

"I wouldn't change any of it either. Except for this mess with Max."

"I'll agree with you there. I'm beginning to think we may never have a normal relationship. As long as you and Ruby don't find yourselves in the middle of a surprise alien attack, I think we'll be ok."

"Yeah I could do without that again. Speaking of Ruby, I should probably get going. I don't want to leave her with Lena for too long. She might unintentionally let the cat out of the bag."

"As much as I've loved keeping everyone in the dark, I can't wait to finally tell them tomorrow night."

"I couldn't agree more." Alex walked Sam to the door gave her a kiss goodbye. She closed the door, leaned into it and breathed a heavy sigh. Her life was about to get crazy and she was thankful that Lucy was back at the DEO.


	12. Chapter 12

Alex arrived at the Arias house and knocked on the door. Sam opened it and smiled at her girlfriend. "Please tell me you rode your bike?"

Alex leaned in for a kiss, "Of course I rode it. I might even let you drive it back home tonight. If you're a good girl." Alex went back for more. This time pushing Sam up against the wall in the foyer. She moved her lips from Sam's and peppered her jawline with soft kisses until she reached Sam's neck. She planted a few gentle kisses before she found her pulse point where she bit down gently. Not enough to leave a mark but enough to elicit a gasp from Sam. She pulled away and looked at Sam. She should regret getting Sam riled up right before game night, but she just couldn't hold back any longer.

If tonight went in their favor Alex was hoping to stay with Sam tonight to show her just how much she cared about her. Before Alex could make another move, Sam was pushing her toward the living room. Kissing her the entire time and exploring the flesh beneath Alex's shirt. She pushed Alex on the couch and straddled her lap. "Two can play at this game Director." She captured Alex's lips in a searing kiss, while Alex's hands roamed underneath her top.

Sam started rocking her hips. Alex couldn't help the growl that escaped. She took her hands from Sam's hips and grabbed her ass. At the rate they were going they wouldn't make game night. Sam seemed to be on the same page. They both pulled away, breathless.

"We should probably get going. Don't want to be late and cause Kara and Lena to get suspicious."

"No, I don't think we do. Continue this later?" Alex said with quirked eyebrows.

Sam couldn't help but laugh, "You get me this worked up there is no way you aren't finishing what you started." With one final kiss Sam got off of Alex's lap and pulled her toward the door.

Alex was surprised to say the least. "Wait seriously?"

"I mean I was kinda thinking that was going to happen tonight anyway. We are well beyond taking things slow and I've been dying to see you naked."

Alex was to flabbergasted to say anything. She handed Sam the extra helmet and hopped on the back of her bike. They spent most of the ride in silence. Until they were almost at Kara's apartment Sam asked, "Do you think we really can pull this off?"

"We have to for at least 2 hours. Then all bets are off. No pun intended."

Sam chuckled, "I think you may have meant a little of that. Do you think Lucy will behave herself?"

"I think so. I think she genuinely wants to set up our first real date. As long as Lena and Kara don't come out on top, she'll be ok."

Alex had pulled up in front of Kara's building. She spotted Lucy getting off her bike. Coincidentally the same model as Alex's. She made a mental note to ask her best friend about that later. "You ready to have your ass handed to you Lane."

Lucy smirked she had a good come back but knew that Kara would be using her super hearing once she heard Alex's heartbeat in close proximity, so she kept it to herself. "I don't think I'll have to worry about my ass tonight Danvers. Depending on what Kara has in mind I would like nothing more than to hand James and Winn theirs, but we'll see what happens."

Alex snaked her arm through Lucy's and started walking toward the entrance to Kara's building, "That is something we can both agree on." She turned back toward Sam, she really wanted to have Sam on her arm right now, but she had a part to play and couldn't touch Sam right now. She was still too worked up from their encounter earlier. "You coming gorgeous or are we too intimidating for you." Alex teased. She knew exactly what it would do to Sam and she wasn't disappointed.

Sam knew what Alex was doing but it didn't mean that she hated it any less. Until the cat was out of the bag, she and Alex had roles to play and neither of those roles were each other's girlfriends at the moment. Although part of her speculated that this was typical behavior between the two friends, and she should get used to it because it would be a part of her future.

"Intimidating is the last thing I would call you goofballs. But then again I haven't seen you play Pictionary."

Lucy quickly turned her eyes back on Sam, "Oh god, if Kara makes us play Pictionary tonight kicking the boy's ass will be way to easy. James and Winn may be buddies, but they are terrible as teammates for games like that."

Sam watched as Alex and Lucy talked strategy. She was mildly jealous of Lucy. She knew Alex was doing it for appearances, but she wanted to be the one that Alex had her arms around. Two hours. That's all they had to get through was two hours then they could fill everyone in on their little secret and Alex would be hers tonight.

They had hit the two-hour mark, and no one had said anything. It wasn't until they began playing Mario Kart that someone got suspicious. Alex was cheering Sam on the entire time and Sam had done the same for Alex. It was Alex vs. Winn and Sam vs. Lucy in the semi-finals. Alex and Sam whipped Lucy and Winn's behinds. Alex made the mistake of calling Sam babe when they were trash talking each other. James had been the only one to notice but thought he had been hearing things. Lena and Kara were in the kitchen talking about a new vegan restaurant that had just opened that they wanted to go to next week. Lena would have called Alex out quicker than the agent could pull her gun out of its holster.

Alex couldn't stop stealing glances at Sam while they were racing. The glint in her eyes reminded Alex so much of a child at Christmas. James had been watching and knew something was going on between them. After Alex won by the skin of her teeth James called them out much to the surprise of Lena and Kara.

Lena, James and Winn were happy for them and wanted details. But Kara was livid. Alex looked apologetically at Sam and took Kara into the hallway. "What is your problem?"

Kara faced Alex with her arms crossed, "Why didn't you say anything? I'm your sister!"

Alex bit her lip. She really wanted to lay into Kara right now but knew that wasn't the right reaction. So instead she took a few deep breaths and calmly explained why she hadn't said anything.

"It's not like you and Lena didn't have your suspicions. Sam and I had wanted to take things slow. I had rushed things with Maggie, and we know how that turned out. Sam also has a daughter and we wanted to make sure we were sure about this before we told anyone. But you had to go and fight a White Martian a bit recklessly and injured my girlfriend's daughter, so things kept progressing at much faster pace than we wanted." Kara was about to go on a rant about the damage done to Ruby wasn't her fault and the fact that Alex chose to take them to the DEO wasn't her fault either. But Alex put her hand up to stop her.

"I know damn well it wasn't exactly your fault. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there was no way I was letting some random ER doctor patch up Ruby when it was my sister who had a hand in hurting her. Besides I know you and Lena have a bet going on how soon it would be before Sam and I would reveal that we had made it official."

It was Alex's turn to cross her arms and look at her sister with an incredulous look. Kara still looked pissed, but Alex wasn't backing down from this. Just because Kara was her sister didn't mean she had to share every little detail of her life the second it happened.

"Kara you can't be serious. Nowhere in the unofficial sister handbook does it say that we have to share every detail of our lives the moment it happens. Besides it's not like you didn't know how Sam and I felt about each other. You and Lena had obviously figured it out after the first night Sam and I met. If anything, I should be pissed that after all this time you haven't said anything to Lena about how you feel about her."

Kara knew she had been had but she still wasn't ready to back down. "Ok fine Lena and I did have a bet running and you and Sam got us both tonight. I just wish you had said something about you guys at least going on a few dates."

"We only went on one actual date, the second one had the intentions of being a date but got a little too deep in the personal baggage department and neither of us is really sure if it counts as a date. So, there wasn't anything to tell."

"What about the lunch dates at L-Corp?"

Alex just shook her head, "Me just surprising a new friend with lunch. Yeah sure I happened to be really attracted to this friend but again not an actual date because Lena was there for both of them."

Kara seemed to accept the inevitable, "We are tabling this conversation for sister night next week. Unless you're going to cancel on me?"

Alex walked to her sister, put her hands on her shoulders, "Sister night is still on. Even though I have met an incredibly amazing woman I will still make time for us. Now come on we still have Pictionary to play and I really want to keep my winning streak going."

Sam wondered why Kara was pissed at Alex. She could clearly tell her little sister wasn't happy that James had called out the pair. Everyone was happy for them, but she couldn't help but notice Kara looked like she was going to kill her sister. Alex apparently had noticed; she gave Sam an apologetic look and took her sister into the hallway.

Sam looked at Lena who just shrugged her shoulders and went to refill her wine. It was Lucy who came to her rescue. "Hey there tiger lets go out on the balcony and get some air."

Sam didn't know what else to do but follow her. Truth be told other than Lena and obviously Alex, Lucy was the only other person in Lena's group that she got along with. Well technically Lucy wasn't part of Lena's group it was more the other way around but either way Lucy was someone she enjoyed being around.

"Don't worry about Kara. She's probably pissed that Alex hasn't talked to her about any of this. What exactly is going on out there who knows but however pissed Kara is she'll get over it quickly because she's already told me how much she likes you. She's just not used to sharing Alex. It's gotten better since Alex last relationship, but it was still hard for Kara to share her.

"Kara was adopted by the Danvers after her parents were killed in a horrible house fire. Alex was the only one who could get through to her and it's been the two of them against the world ever since. Kara has a hard time sharing Alex. When Alex first started dating Maggie Kara was a nightmare. I had just left National City when Alex and Maggie had started dating and Kara was struggling hard and I was the person she talked to. In addition to all that Alex has never not shared huge parts of her life. Dating Maggie meant Alex was keeping more of herself hidden from Kara.

"It got better but only toward the end of their relationship but trust me when I say Kara isn't going to be an issue. At the end of the day she just wants Alex to be happy because out of all of us she knows better than anyone how much Alex deserves to be happy and you do make her happy Sam."

Sam was starting to see that Alex was surrounded by fiercely loyal people who were only looking out for her best interests. If Lucy thought Sam was making her happy then she wasn't going to pay any mind to Kara for now.

"I'm starting to learn that the Danvers sisters are a different kind of animal as is this family."

"You are not wrong there Sam. Just out of curiosity what are your thoughts on this group of misfits?"

Sam took a sip of her beer and contemplated what she had seen tonight. It was very different from her first night meeting all of them in the bar. She had gotten to know Alex and through Lena she had gotten to know more about Kara over the last few weeks which changed her opinion on the group as a whole.

"Kara may have been the one to bring the majority of these people together, but their loyalty is toward Alex. Not to say they aren't loyal to Kara, but they would much sooner drop everything if Alex needed them than if it was Kara."

Sam kept surprising her. First time meeting most of the people here tonight and she already has them figured out.

"I wish I could say you're wrong in your observation, but you've hit that nail right on the head. In the beginning James and Winn would have been on Kara's side no matter what but they've been through a lot with Kara over the years and it hasn't always ended well. Still friends at the end of the day but Alex always has their best interest in mind. Not always the case with Kara."

"Where do you stand with Kara? I mean you sound like your friends with her, but I know for a fact your loyalty lies with Alex."

Lucy couldn't help but laugh at that. She had never really thought about it but after she freed Alex from government custody, she would have said she did it out of loyalty to Kara and James. Truth be told she and Alex had butted heads, but she knew why Alex was pushing back. Loyalty to Supergirl and Lucy had admired it. Once Kara reviled herself it all clicked, and Lucy had a whole new appreciation for Alex Danvers.

"My sister and I have always had a strained relationship. We've been working on it the last year, but we still have a long way to go. Once I realized Alex was always going to be there for her sister no matter what, my opinion of her started to change. So yeah, I guess my loyalty does lie with Alex and because Kara is her sister, I'll do just about anything for her because she is my best friends' little sister."

"Alex is lucky to have people like this in her life." As if on cue the door to Kara's apartment opened and in walked the sisters. Kara looked less mad but was definitely still upset. Alex found her immediately and smiled so big her eyes lit up. She made her way toward the balcony. She wrapped her hands around her. The uneasiness that had dissipated some when she and Lucy had been talking completely disappeared. Sam pulled back slightly and looked at Alex. Searching her eyes, which could never lie, to see if everything really was ok with Kara. There was a little bit of sadness in them, but Sam wasn't worried by what she saw there.

"Everything ok with you and Kara?"

"She's just a little upset but she'll be fine. I did tell her she needed to tell Lena how she felt about her."

Alex watched as both Sam and Lucy raised their brows in surprise. Sam just chugged the rest of her beer while Lucy asked how it had gone over.

"She tried to play it off like she didn't but when I gave her the intimidating Alex Danvers stare, she caved but still managed to bring it back to me not saying anything to her about Sam."

So, Lucy had been right. Kara was mad that Alex hadn't said anything about her yet. "Looks like you were right Lucy but Alex you're sure you and Kara are fine?"

Alex put her hand to Sam's cheek, "Yes Kara and I will be fine. We've got a sister night on Tuesday we'll get everything laid out and we'll be fine. My sister isn't the most important person in my life anymore. That's you and Ruby nothing can come between us and that includes my sister."

Lucy just sat back and watched Alex talk down a worried Sam. It was still too early to tell where this would go but Lucy had a feeling Alex had found her forever. Maybe Alex had learned from her time with Maggie, but she never put anyone above her sister. It was always Kara first. Or maybe because of Maggie Alex was finally learning how to be her own person and that gave her the ability to love Sam in a way she never would have been able to love Maggie.

Lucy cleared her throat to get the attention of the two love birds. "Hate to break up this conversation but we better get back inside it looks like Kara is bringing out Pictionary and I don't want to end up on a team with James and Winn again."

"Oh no I already told Kara that it's you, Sam and I on a team tonight. She also can't be on Lena's team. Those two have been on a team together for the last 3 months and won all but one game."

"The logical choice for teams would be J'onn, Vas and Lena with Winn, James and Kara together hopefully Kara will hate playing with them and we'll not play Pictionary for a while."


	13. Chapter 13

Lucy's predictions were true. Kara, Winn and James had never been a good team for Pictionary. Sam, Lucy and Alex had just barely beaten Lena, J'onn and Vas. Sam was good at Pictionary and pulled through in the tie breaker with Alex and Lucy correctly guessing a juggler riding a unicycle with only seconds to spare.

Kara was pouting and Lucy suspected most of it had to do with Alex leaving her out of the loop regarding her relationship with Sam. Add in forcing her to play her favorite game with Winn and James on her team and she was not happy.

Winn, James, J'onn and Vas had retreated to the kitchen to refill their drinks Lucy seized the opportunity to talk to Kara. She poured a glass of Kara's favorite wine, approached her friend, "I know you probably don't want to talk about your sister right now but I'm not giving you a choice."

Lucy thrust the glass of wine in her direction, gave Kara her best Major Lane stare and pointed in the direction of the balcony. Kara let out a deep sigh and walked in the direction Lucy was pointing.

Alex intercepted Lucy before she reached the balcony door. "Don't be too hard on her Luce."

"I'm not but, Kara isn't a delicate flower nor is she a child and she's kinda acting like one right now. I'm just going to talk to her. Sometimes outside perspective is better to sooth the soul."

Alex nodded her head and made her way back to Lena and Sam. Lucy walked to the balcony and shut the door. Leaning up against the door she just looked at Kara. Her back was turned looking out at the city. She was going to wait for Kara to speak. She would wait all night if she had to.

It only took a few minutes, but Kara finally spoke. "Why did she keep this from me Lucy?"

It was almost a whisper if Lucy hadn't been waiting for Kara to say something, she would have missed it. She detected the sadness in Kara's voice. If it had been about anything other than her sister's new relationship Lucy might have felt bad for the Kryptonian. Kara has been too dependent on Alex for far too long and she had to learn to live her own life without Alex always being there for her.

Lucy walked up to Kara, leaned her back against the balcony railing and took a sip of her beer before looking at Kara. She waited for Kara to look at her before she responded. "The main reason was because she didn't want to screw this up. She had rushed things with Maggie, and we all see how that worked out. Also, she knew you and Lena had a bet going on when exactly they would come out and tell everyone they were together so…

That got a little smile out of Kara, but she was still sad. "Look Kara I know you and Alex have a tight sibling relationship and I envy the two of you for that sometimes, but you also have to understand that Alex is finally getting to live her life on her own terms. She doesn't have your mom pressuring her into making sure no one finds out that you're an alien with superpowers.

"She finally got a taste of what living her own life is like when she was with Maggie. That doesn't mean she doesn't want to share her life with you anymore Kara, but it means that she's going to keep certain parts of herself away from you because those parts are just meant for Sam. If she feels like she wants to share any details about her relationship with Sam she will. You can't be mad at her for wanting to keep somethings to herself. That includes keeping her relationship with Sam a secret for so long."

Kara took another sip of her wine, a single tear falling down her cheek. She knew what Lucy was saying was true. Alex had finally figured herself out and that part of her life meant less of Alex's life was devoted to her. She was happy for her sister but sharing her was going to take some getting used to.

"I know you're right Lucy. I had just started to get used to it when she ended things with Maggie. I'm just not used to Alex sharing everything with me and I have a right to be hurt by this, but I guess I am over reacting a bit."

Lucy put her arm around Kara's shoulders and gave her gentle side hug. "No one is saying you have to get used to this overnight. We are however saying try to act like you are happy for your sister. I know James and Winn aren't the ideal partners for Pictionary, but you were more of a sore loser tonight than normal. Everyone is giving you a pass because of the big news you got about your sister tonight but come on Kara this is even a bit much for you."

Kara leaned her head on top of Lucy's. She knew Lucy was right. It wasn't just the fact that Alex had kept Sam a secret that was bothering her. It was Lena. Alex was right she should finally tell the woman how she felt but she was afraid of losing the first good friend she had ever had. Kara turned around and took a look inside her apartment. She saw J'onn, Winn and James laughing about something in the kitchen. Lena and Sam talking about her most recent painting. Alex and Vas taking in their surroundings and talking about who knows what. Everyone was happy as they should be. Kara should be happy as well. She had the best sister in the universe, a family that she wouldn't trade krypton for and a great life.

Lucy squeezed her shoulder gently before making her way back inside. Kara would come around eventually. She just needed time. Lucy made her way over to the couch that Vas and Alex had taken and sat in between them. She laid her head in Alex's lap and propped her feet on Vas's. Alex started absentmindedly playing with her hair. God did she miss that. Alex was with Sam now all thoughts of what could have been had to be filed in the vault.

"Did you get through to Kara?"

"I think so. She does have a right to be upset but not as upset as she is. Give her some time and she'll come around. I also think she's been thinking more and more about Lena being more than a friend which isn't helping. She didn't say it, but I think she is afraid of telling her how she feels and Lena not returning those feelings."

Alex finished what was left of her beer and set it on the side table, "I wish she knew that wasn't an issue. Lena is just as smitten with her. But we can't rush things. Kara lost her entire world and values people differently than we do. She'll come around eventually."

Sam watched Lucy come back in from talking to Kara. She watched as she made her way to Alex and Vas on the couch. Watched as she made herself comfortable. Head resting in Alex's lap, how Alex's hand automatically found Lucy's scalp and began to gently scratch it. She saw Lucy lean into the touch. Vas just went with the flow of Lucy placing her feet in their lap. Resting their right arm on Lucy's legs. She also saw the way Vas looked at Lucy. She knew Lucy had wanted a relationship with Alex, but Sam had already been in the picture. Maybe she and Vas could be a thing but that wasn't Sam's place.

Part of her knew she should be threatened by Lucy Lane, but she wasn't. Lucy and Alex were just friends. Good friends and maybe back in her college days she would have suggested a threesome between the ladies, but she wasn't much into sharing these days but if Lucy ever offered, she might give it some serious thought.

She absentmindedly listened to Lena talk about some of Kara's other paintings, but she couldn't help but think about Alex. Naked. All these thoughts of a threesome between Lucy, Alex and herself brought her back to Alex. Alex whom she still had yet to see naked and now she couldn't get that thought out of her head. She excused herself form Lena and made her way toward Alex.

She walked around to the back of the couch and looked down at Alex and Lucy. She tried to keep her desire in check. "How did your talk with Kara go?"

Lucy looked up at Sam. Lucy could tell that she had a little too much to drink she was finding herself looking at Sam and thinking to herself that Alex really knew how to pick them. She shook her head, "It went well, I think. Kara isn't used to this. Just give her time and she'll be back to her old self. Or we'll get a new Kara if she woman's up and tells Lena how she feels."

Sam couldn't help the snort that escaped. "I would say that should be the next thing we should bet on but that might not be a good idea."

Lucy sat up and turned to face Sam. "One thing you'll learn quick is this group is run by bets. This time I think we would be better off using an exact date and cash as the prize." Lucy quickly turned toward Vas.

"What are you looking at me for?"

All Lucy had to do was quirk an eyebrow and give Vas her signature smirk.

"Alright, fine I'll be your bookie. Place your bets."

Alex and Sam had tuned out Lucy and Vas. Sam leaned down and kissed her girlfriend. Glad that she didn't have to hide how she felt from their friends any longer. She pulled away and saw that familiar burning in Alex's eyes. "Let's get out of here."

Sam didn't have to ask her twice. Alex and Sam both said goodbye to everyone and made their way down to Alex's bike. Once there Alex handed her a helmet and asked, "My place our yours?"

She had wanted to drive Alex's bike back to her place tonight, but something had happened when they didn't have to restrain themselves anymore. There would be another day she could take the bike for a spin. Tonight, would never happen again for them. There was always something magical about the first time with someone you really cared for. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about tonight. The last time she had sex was a few years ago when she and Lena had last seen each other before Lena moved back to National City.

She went in for another kiss. Their lips crashed together in need, desire and want. When they both needed air Sam responded, "Your place. I don't think we'll make it back to my place."

Alex nodded a little breathless. She shoved her helmet on before anything else could happen. She climbed on the bike, started it up and waited for Sam to climb on behind her. Once she felt the now familiar grip of Sam's arms she sped off toward her apartment.

Before Sam knew it, they had pulled up to Alex's apartment. Sam dismounted the bike and waited for Alex to do the same. Alex took her hand and lead her into the building. They were both practically vibrating with excitement. Sam wondered if Alex was just as nervous as she was. But her nerves wouldn't stop her from showing Alex how much she loved her. Sam still wasn't sure in what capacity she loved Alex, but she did love her.

Once they made it inside the apartment Alex dropped her keys in their usual spot and took Sam's face in her hands and kissed her. It was fierce yet gentle but full of all the desire Alex had for Sam. Each time she kissed Sam it felt like she was kissing her for the first time. She was always left with butterflies in her stomach, eye's seeing stars, but every kiss always left her wanting more. Right now, she felt like there were a million butterflies flying around her stomach, but she knew she was going to get more tonight. More than just a kiss, more than just a few exploratory touches.

Alex pulled back and searched Sam's eyes. She saw the same fire that she had burning inside her. Sam wanted the same thing she did, but she needed to hear her say it out loud. Before she could even ask Sam to put her hand on her cheek and said, "I want you, Alex."

Alex smiled, kissed the palm of Sam's hand then took it in her own and lead her to the bedroom. Once they had reached the bed Alex removed Sam's jacket and threw it toward the couch. Sam had grabbed the lapels of her jacket and pulled her in for another kiss. Eventually Sam's hands released Alex's jacket and removed it throwing it in the general direction of her own. Alex had moved her hands from Sam's hips and started unbuttoning her shirt and letting it slide from her shoulders.

Alex pulled off her own shirt and pushed Sam on the bed. Alex thought Sam was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen fully clothed. Now with her laying half naked on her bed Alex thought she was a goddess and she wanted to make sure Sam knew it. She placed her hands on the bed, with Sam's torso between them she leaned in to kiss her again. She savored the moment before moving down to Sam's neck. It didn't take her long to find her pulse point. Alex gently sucked until she got what she wanted and bit down gently before making her way down Sam's body. She quickly removed Sam's bra and made quick work of her nipples.

Alex gently sucked and pulled at the buds and the response she got from Sam was more than she could have hoped for. She was going completely on instinct and she was glad it wasn't steering her wrong. She had only ever been with Maggie and Sara, so she had no experience in pleasuring women other than those two. And Sara didn't really count. They were both drunk. But none of that mattered, all that mattered was Sam. Alex wanted to do her best to show Sam how much she loved her.

She worked her way down Sam's torso peppering it with soft kisses stopping once she got to her pants. Alex wanted to rip them off but instead she took her time. As if sensing some uneasiness Sam pulls her back to kiss her some more. Alex can't imagine never not being blown away by Sam kissing her. Sam was the first to pull away this time. Alex could see a fire burning in her eyes.

"I hate to sound like a horny teenager but if you don't take off my pants in the next 5 seconds…"

Alex smirked, "Well it will take more than 5 seconds to get them off seeing as your boots are still on."

Sam playfully shoved Alex away. But Alex came back and quickly removed Sam's boots and started making work of removing her pants. She loved that Alex didn't wasn't any time and removed her panties as well. Sam hadn't been prepared for the reaction that came from Alex upon seeing her naked for the first time.

Sam had always been self-conscious of her stretch marks when it came to anyone she had dated. She herself loved them. It was a daily reminder of what her body had done. The gift she had been given in Ruby. All of the men she had been with since she had Ruby never looked at her the way Alex was looking at her now. Alex was looking at her like she was a goddess. She knew from the moment she met Alex Danvers that she was different than anyone she had ever known.

She watched as Alex removed the rest of her clothing. Alex's naked body took her breath away. She had seen her muscular back the night she came over to fill out the paperwork for Pam. That was just a tease. Alex was all lean muscle but not in a bad way. She didn't have the physique of a body builder she still had some softness about her, but you could tell she was strong as hell. Sam was having a hard time taking in how gentle Alex was being with the strength her body exuded. She would probably live her entire life and never know how Alex made her feel like a goddess and keep her guessing at how gentle someone who was so strong could be. But she was ok with that because it meant she would have a lifetime of Alex Danvers showing her how much she loved her.

Sam woke the next morning feeling lighter than she has felt in a long time. She had never known what it was to truly be shown how someone loves you. Alex had done that last night. She hadn't known how exactly to feel about it while it was happening. Alex had blown her away last night. She had seen things going differently but she wasn't disappointed that they had gone in a different direction. If she had been unsure of Alex and her intentions before she wouldn't have had any doubts now.

She knew without a doubt Alex was the person she had been waiting for. The person who would be the second parent that Ruby deserved. That would guide Ruby through life and its constant twist and turns. A partner that she could trust to have her back while giving her the space she needed as an independent woman.

Alex was still asleep. She was sleeping on her stomach with her top half completely naked. She was hugging her pillow like her life depended on it. The way the sunlight was shining through the windows made Alex look like the goddess she had made her out to be last night. Alex looked so peaceful like she didn't have a care in the world. If this was what it would be like to wake up to Alex Danvers every morning she wouldn't complain.

She wasn't sure how long Alex was going to be asleep and she didn't want to wake her, but Sam was wide awake and didn't want to be a creep starring at her girlfriend while she was asleep. Which she could honestly do until she woke up. Lena had agreed to pick up Ruby from her friend's house and keep her until Sam was ready to pick her up. Sam decided she would try to make breakfast for them. She knew it was going to be a long shot, but she was going to try.

Starting with a pot of coffee she then set out to see what she could find in Alex's cabinets and refrigerator. The woman had absolutely nothing. She shouldn't have been surprised. She couldn't cook to save her life apparently. Although she had done an excellent job the other night. Coffee would have to do for now. She heard Alex stirring in her bed. She turned around and found Alex had flipped over and was now splayed out like a starfish, with her left arm and leg hanging off the bed. She couldn't help but chuckle. The pot of coffee had finished brewing, she poured them each a cup and made her way back to the bed. She set the mugs on the night stand and climbed back beneath the covers.

She snuggled into Alex, resting her head on her shoulder and wrapping her right arm around her waist. Once she had gotten herself settled, she felt and arm wrap around her. She snuggled deeper into Alex. She had never known this feeling before. This feeling of being completely safe wrapped in someone else's arms. Alex started running a finger gently up and down her back. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not long. I was going to attempt to make us breakfast, but your cabinets and fridge are completely bare."

"Can't cook remember. Although today is my usual day for what little grocery shopping, I do. I didn't get to go last week because a rouge white Martian decided to attack the city and injure my girlfriend's daughter."

"Don't remind me. I'm glad you were there. Until you came over, I was terrified. Then I learned you weren't just a director for a government agency but a doctor as well. "

Alex kissed the top of Sam's head. "Was that really only a week ago? So much has happened in the last week."

Sam sat up and Alex followed suit. She grabbed their cups of coffee and handed Alex hers. She hated to admit she was a little distracted by Alex's naked top half. She took a sip of her coffee and let the warmth spread through her. "Yeah it's hard to believe that was a week ago. I'm just glad everyone knows we are officially a couple. Speaking of are you sure you and Kara are ok?"

Alex took a sip of her coffee before responding to Sam's question. She knew Sam was worried that them keeping this a secret had hurt the sister's relationship. "I promise Sam, Kara and I are fine. She is just upset that I didn't tell her anything about liking you. She obviously knew. You and I both picked up on that much from her and Lena in the short time we had known each other when we first met. You don't need to worry about her being mad at me. She's never mad at me for long. Lucy's talk with her after mine helped as well. Lucy has a way with explaining things that Kara can't argue her logic. What we should be worried about is the fact that I finally called her out on her feelings for Lena."

Sam chuckled before taking another sip of coffee, "You think she'll actually do anything about it? I know you and Lena have both said that they had a falling out and only recently worked things out. Only because of you did I find out it was you who had made them reconcile their differences. How was that?"

"It was the toughest thing I've ever done. I've fought aliens and have almost been killed more times than I can count. Talking to Lena and Kara when they weren't on speaking terms was much worse than that. There was a lot of yelling. Particularly on Lena's part. She's normally so poised and stoic that it threw me off guard. Kara yelling I'm used to, but Lena's yelling scared me a bit. But then there were so many tears. Once they had realized they both had valid reasons for being mad at the other but also how stupid they both had been they hugged it out and here we are. Hopefully after our little revelation one of them will man up and tell the other one just how they feel."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough. Or we won't, which if that is the case, I will help you get them together. I'm tired of Lena talking about wanting to do some things to your sister that I won't repeat out of respect." She saw Alex's head turn in her direction. The look on her face was priceless and it took everything in Sam not to burst into laughter. "Downfall of your girlfriend being the best friend of your sisters unrequited love interest."

Alex still had her face scrunched up. The thought of Sam knowing some of the intimate thoughts Lena had about her sister was overwhelming. But if anyone was going to know those details, she supposed Sam wasn't the worst. It also made sense. Sam was Lena's oldest friend Alex would be a fool to think Lena wouldn't have talked about Kara in some capacity. Obviously leaving out the part were Kara is Supergirl and the whole reason they were in this mess in the first place.

"I think we can both agree that neither of us need to discuss what either of us knows about Kara or Lena's love life. Or in this case lack of and hopes that it actually turns into something because they are clearly smitten with each other."

"Yeah I think we can all agree to that."

Sam and Alex both turned toward the voice that had spoken. Lucy was standing in Alex's kitchen with a mug in hand and a devilish smirk on her face. Sam turned to look at Alex and she didn't look to surprise at Lucy standing in her kitchen, but she did look perturbed.

"I see you found your key Lane."

"Yeah I was unpacking some boxes and happened to find the one that this key was packed away in." She held it up and shrugged her shoulders, never should have packed it away with my fancy shoes. I haven't had a reason to wear fancy shoes since before James and I broke up."

Sam was absolutely confused. What did James, Lucy and fancy shoes have to do with Lucy's key to Alex's apartment. Took her a few seconds but she eventually got there. Lucy had stashed her key to Alex's place with her fancy shoes.

"I would ask what the two of you have been up to but judging by the lack of clothing I know exactly what the two of you have been up to since leaving Kara's last night."

Lucy watched as Alex's face changed colors. She should feel bad that she had snuck in, but she had her suspicions last night that this was going to happen, and she had thought they would still be asleep. "Good to know I can still embarrass you Danvers. I am sorry for sneaking in, but I had figured on both of you still being asleep."

Alex looked at Sam and she was just as confused. "I'm glad you're getting a kick out of this Lane but still doesn't answer the question of why you are here."

"We need to talk about how we're going to take down Maxwell Lord."

Alex flopped back against her pillow, threw and arm over her eyes and let out an exasperated breath, beyond frustrated with her best friend.

"I know we need to go over the plan on how to take down Max, but couldn't it have waited until oh, I don't know, this afternoon?"

Sam agreed whole heartedly but couldn't stifle her laughter. The exchange between the friends was amusing. Alex removed her arm from her face just enough to glare at her which only made Sam laugh harder. Sam set her mug down, scooted over to Alex gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm sorry Alex but your little tantrum was amusing, and I couldn't help it. But I do have to agree with her why couldn't this wait until this afternoon?"

"Because I lost a bet last night and Kara owes me a favor. I've made reservations for you tonight for your first date. Kara and Lena are going to watch Ruby overnight so you can have a repeat of last night's escapades if you so desire. So, we have to talk about Max this morning so you both can get ready for tonight. As much as I want to hold off on this conversation it can't wait."

Alex sat up and glared at Lucy, "Fine but can you go occupy yourself for a bit so we can get dressed."

"I'll do you one better. As an apology I'll give you an hour and get us breakfast."

"Deal." Alex watched Lucy walk out and she let out a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with her."

"You love her, and she keeps you on your toes. I have a feeling your life without her in it would be pretty boring."

As annoying as Lucy could be Sam had a point. "Well we've got an hour before she'll be back. Want to get another round in?"

"Absolutely but how sure are we that Lucy will give us a whole hour?"

"Fair point but I think we're safe this time."

"I want to get her back for earlier, but I also don't want her walking in on us so how about a shower?"

Alex narrowed her eyes not sure how them doing it in the shower would get Lucy back for this morning. Then all the pieces clicked together. She climbed out of bed walked around to the other side, took Sam's hand a lead her to the bathroom.


	14. Chapter 14

Lucy knew exactly what was going to be happening while she was gone. She could have gone to the bakery a block away from Alex's place but decided to go the extra block to go to the convenience store and get supplies to make breakfast. It was the least she could do for being a royal pain in Alex's ass.

She got everything she would need and made her way back. When she was a few yards away she noticed a black sedan parked across from the apartment. That definitely was there when she left. On a normal day to a normal person this wouldn't have been a reason for concern. The person in the vehicle was clearly watching the building and the way he was parked gave him a perfect shot at Alex's balcony.

Lucy had two options they could discuss the Max situation and hope the guy was somehow listening in on the conversation and set up a trap for Max or they could leave and head to the DEO which Lucy would rather not do. She and Alex both had off today and if they walked in there something would happen and ruin their day. Then she had another thought. She had a safehouse in the middle of nowhere they could go to. Alex had a secret get away exit in her apartment. If she called in some reinforcements, they might be able to pull this off.

Lucy sent a quick encrypted email to Vas to pass along to J'onn and M'gann. Hopefully they would get the message and things would go according to plan. She let herself into the apartment and was fully expecting to see Alex and Sam still in bed. She heard the shower running and made a point to slam the door as hard as she could. She made her way to the kitchen, started prepping the ingredients for omelets. Fifteen minutes later Sam and Alex emerged from the bathroom.

"Omelets are on the menu that work for you two?"

Alex had been walking back toward the bedroom to grab a shirt but turned when Lucy mentioned omelets. "Lucy you didn't have to cook breakfast, you should have just gone to the bakery and picked up some things."

Lucy may have lingered on Alex's half naked body longer than she should have. She turned back to cracking open the eggs. "Consider it my peace offering. As much fun as I have annoying the hell out of you, I should have called before coming over unannounced. Plus, my cooking is ten times better than any assortment of pastries at the bakery."

This was a complete turnaround from Lucy's playful teasing and taunting earlier. Alex made her way toward the coffee pot got herself and Sam a refill and sat across from Lucy preparing ingredients at the island. Sam took her coffee and thankfully went back into the bathroom to finish her hair. She gave her best friend a once over. All it took was a look from Lucy and Alex knew what was going on. Her apartment was being watched.

This had happened once before. When Alex had gotten caught up in a smuggling ring that was run by the alien version of the godfather. There would be no discussing Max at the apartment today. Luckily the duo had devised a few head tilts and hand gestures that they could communicate with. Alex let go of Lucy's stare and ran a hand through her hair. Acknowledging she knew what was going on.

Lucy responded with a head tilt to the left and lifted her index finger from the knife she was holding briefly. There was one guy. At least from what Lucy had been able to tell and he was out front. Alex decided to turn the conversation around to what happened after they had left Kara's last night. If her apartment was being watched chances are, they could be listening in as well. Thankfully her place couldn't be bugged. Winn had come up with a device last year that could stand up to advanced alien tech, so she wasn't worried about that. But that didn't mean she was entirely safe. Long distance surveillance equipment was still and issue.

With a few more hand gestures she had deduced that Lucy didn't want to go to the DEO. Even though Alex thought it would be the safest place for them to discuss their plans on taking down Max. Lucy had a plan and Alex was going to have to trust her friend. She made one final gesture toward the hidden entrance to an escape route. Lucy gently nodded her head.

Now that the finer details had been set Alex had to figure out a way to tell Sam that there had been a change of plans. She grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote out what she could so as not to alarm Sam but get her the info she needed.

She walked back in the bathroom. Sam was almost finished straightening her hair and Alex had a hard time deciding whether she liked Sam more with her straight hair and no make-up or the curls and just a touch of make-up. Sam caught her staring and gave her a smile. God this woman was so beautiful. Alex had to shake her head to get herself back to reality. She held a finger to her lips and handed Sam the note. She quietly left the bathroom and left Sam to read the note.

 _Lucy spotted someone watching the apartment. We aren't sure if they are listening in on our conversations so no talking about Max here today. As far as any further conversation goes no mention of Max unless Lucy or I bring him up. Otherwise just follow our lead. We'll have to split up. J'onn and a friend are on their way over. They are both Martians so they can shape shift. They'll shape shift into us to throw off the tail. Sorry I can't explain further._

Sam felt cold chills run through her body. This was starting to get serious. Max knew where Alex lived and more than likely knew where Sam lived. Which meant that Ruby was now in danger. Sam was about to barge out of the bathroom when she noticed more writing at the bottom of the page.

 _I know you're worried about Ruby. Don't be. I've already contacted Supergirl and she is on the way to Lena. She knows it has something to do with Max and that Ruby might be in danger. Lena will know what to do. I haven't told you this but protecting Ruby from this asshole is my top priority. If anything happened to her… I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing I could have done something. You two are my family now and protecting you both is always going to come first._

Sam had tears in her eyes. She knew Alex was one of a kind she just hadn't realized just how much until now. It seemed that Alex had come into her life at the right time. She couldn't imagine dealing with Max without Alex by her side. On the other hand, this might not be an issue if Sam and Alex hadn't started dating. No, this would have eventually come up. She knew Max would come after her for the missing piece of the formula one day. Her new relationship with Alex may have sped up his timeline but it was always going to happen.

Sam composed herself and made her way back to the kitchen. To anyone that didn't know Alex and Lucy the conversation they were having seemed normal. Sam detected some gestures being made between the pair that she didn't understand put knew was a code of some sort.

She sat down next to Alex just as Lucy made a comment about Vasquez and the bets that had been placed between the friends about Lena and Kara. "James thinks he knows Kara and it will take her a few months to work up the courage to tell Lena how she feels. He also thinks it's going to be Lena that beats her to it. Thinks she'll be fed up in about a month and just tell her how she feels."

Sam shook her head. "Not going to happen. After the falling out Lena had with Kara, she will do no such thing. She will wait until Kara says something but, she won't wait around forever. Lena is patient but only for so long. She'll move on if she thinks Kara won't say anything. Speaking of bets, Alex we need to place our official wagers."

Sam took a look at her phone to double check the date, "Lucy tell Vas I'm saying by midnight on the 22nd Kara will make her move."

Alex looked at Sam like she had lost her mind. "That's in a week. You think my little sister is going to get the courage to tell Lena how she feels that soon?"

"I do. Plus, I have insider information."

Lucy stopped whisking the eggs to look at Sam. "What kind of insider information? Because if you know something that gives you a distinct advantage you aren't allowed to make an official bet. We may be a crazy bunch that loves to make bets on people's lives, love lives in particular, but we don't cheat."

"I wouldn't dream of cheating. All I know is that Kara has taken a notice to how Lena has been acting around her. Which is mildly annoyed all the time. Part of the reason she's mad at you for keeping us a secret. If Kara hasn't said anything to Lena by the end of the month, she has a friend that is willing to play the part of love interest to make Kara jealous."

Alex and Lucy both looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Alex turned to Sam and said, "I almost don't want Kara to say anything by the end of the month just to see how Kara reacts to Lena's new found "love interest". I know it makes me sound like a terrible sister, but I very rarely get to see Kara in this kind of emotional torment it could be fun. Especially after her little tantrum about Sam and I."

Lucy had just finished flipping the first omelet and again was struck with a wonderful opportunity. "Given this new information I think we need to place a wager between the three of us. How long do we think it will take Kara to make a stand for her woman after the new lady comes into Lena's life?"

Alex and Sam both shrugged their shoulders. Sam asked, "What did you have in mind Lucy?"

"Losers have to by the drinks when we go out again. By we, I mean the three of us plus Vas."

They shook on it. Alex made note of the wagers in her phone while Lucy finished making breakfast. Alex figured it would take two weeks, Lucy a week and a half. Sam on the other hand figured it would take Kara at least three. Assuming she hadn't said anything to Lena by the 22nd. Sam was still on edge about the apartment being watched and wondered if her house was also under surveillance. They finished their breakfast chatting about anything and everything that wasn't Maxwell Lord. Sam and Alex were finishing the last of the dishes when the bookcase on the wall behind the table swung forward. Sam jumped a little, but Alex put a reassuring hand on her arm.

It was just J'onn and his friend. Lucy, Alex and J'onn were the only ones who knew the whole plan. Sam knew the Martians were going to shapeshift into herself and Alex to throw off the guy but other than that Sam had no idea where they were going. She saw J'onn, Lucy and Alex having a silent exchange. She had heard rumors that Martians could read minds and she figured that was what was going on right now. The safest form of communication they had currently.

Lucy's phone rang unexpectedly, "Lucy Lane. Are you sure this requires our immediate attention? Alright but you owe us Vas. It's our day off. I'll see you in 30."

"Sorry guys change of plans. Something came up at the DEO that Vas said needs our attention Alex."

Sam looked confused and then it all clicked into place. J'onn and his friend shapeshifted into Alex and Sam. Lucy was going to walk out with the Martians and make it look as if they were going to part ways for the day. While they snuck out without anyone noticing. Sam was about to say something to Alex when she felt a finger come to her lips. Alex just shook her head and led Sam to the secret door behind her bookshelf. It was a very tiny elevator like contraption. After what felt like forever, they arrived in an underground bunker.

Sam saw all kinds of weapons and if her girlfriend wasn't the director for a secret government agency she would be surprised and probably be filled with all kinds of questions. Alex grabbed a gun and a few knives and tucked them in various hiding spots on her person. She motioned for Sam to follow her. They went through another door that lead to a tunnel that didn't appear to have an end in sight.

Alex still hadn't spoken so Sam just kept quiet. This is a time that Sam should really question if she made the right choice in trusting Alex with her life. But she does and somehow, she undoubtedly trusts Lucy as well. She knows that if either of these women betray her Lena won't hesitate in helping her pay them back.

Sam hadn't noticed that they arrived at another door. Alex carefully opened it. It was just a parking garage. Even though the tunnel had been lit it was so dim that Sam had to squint while her eyes adjusted to the light. Alex lead her toward a black sports car with tinted windows. Once they were inside Alex finally spoke.

"How are you doing?"

Sam took a moment to think about that. This whole situation was a mess. "I'm good I think."

"I know this isn't the kind of thing you signed up for, but your safety and Ruby's is my top priority. Max isn't going to get any of his demands met nor is he going to get the formula. We're going to lock him up for good. He thinks he knows who he is dealing with. A lot has changed since our last encounter and I think the same can be said for you as well. We'll get the bastard Sam. I promise."

Sam took Alex's hand that had been resting on the center console. She kissed her knuckles, "I believe you Alex. I know we'll get him. We will have to put up one hell of a fight, but we've got a good team looking out for us and I've got you."

Alex gave Sam a quick kiss and sped out of the garage and made her way toward Lucy's safe house. The fact that Lucy had a safe house outside of the city used to worry Alex, but Lucy was always prepared for anything and right now she was beyond grateful for it. If anything happened to Sam or Ruby, she could never forgive herself.

An hour later Alex turned down a road in the middle of what Sam could only describe as a haunted forest. They drove for another 15 minutes and turned down a road that unless you knew it was there would have missed if you were just driving by. Two miles later they pulled up in front of a garage. Alex hit a button on the ceiling of the car and the door opened. She pulled the car inside and closed the door. Once the door had been shut, she opened the door and got out of the vehicle. Sam followed.

A few minutes later they were inside a cute little cottage. Lucy was waiting at the kitchen table with coffee and stacks of folders. She looked up from the one she was currently looking at. "Glad you made it here safely."

"Do you and J'onn encounter any trouble?"

Lucy wrinkled her nose. "Almost. I may have glanced back at the car before getting in my car and driving away. The sedan followed us the whole time. Unfortunately for him he parked right in front of the DEO. I had Winn get the tags and keep surveillance on him. Last I checked the guy got out of the vehicle and Winn was able to get a good shot of him from the security cameras. He's running it through a few programs. Hopefully we'll get a hit soon."

Alex shook her head, "Not likely. This is Max we're talking about. The guy is either squeaky clean or he has paid someone in the government to wipe him from existence. Let's get started on a plan to take this bastard down. I want to get this over and done with as quickly as possible."

Sam and Lucy both exchanged looks. Sam spoke, "I want this taken care of as quickly as possible to, but we have to be careful. We move to quickly and he'll go back into hiding."

"I know that I'm just saying I'm tired of him messing up people's lives because he thinks he can. Not to mention the fact that he thinks human lives are far superior to alien lives and sacrificing innocent lives in the process."

Lucy couldn't argue with that but if they weren't careful, they would screw this up and it wouldn't end well. "Well for starters we need to decide how under the radar we want to fly. Max needs to see that we are trying to counter his plan. It's Max he knows we aren't going to give into his demands easily. Hence the surveillance. He is going to be two steps ahead of us at all times. We have to be four."

Sam knew Lucy was right. Max wanted the formula and a few aliens that he deemed genetically superior. Ones that would help his cause of making the human race superior to the aliens that he thought were invading the planet.

"Does he think we'll try to involve Supergirl somehow?"

Alex and Lucy both shared a look. One that Sam couldn't figure out. Lucy and Alex were having the most intense stare down she had ever seen between two people. She knew Supergirl was a close friend of theirs, but this eluded to something more that Sam couldn't figure out.

Lucy cocked her head and folded her arms across her chest and Alex couldn't take it anymore. "Lucy that isn't my secret to share. Does Sam really need to know?"

"Yes, Alex she does. As much as I don't want to involve her, we may have to. It also would do better for your relationship if she found out who Supergirl is now rather than later. Although I don't think Sam would hate you too much for it."

Alex leaned back in her chair, jaw set, glaring at Lucy. After another stare down Alex gave in, "Fine Lucy I'll tell Sam her identity but if she is mad at me in any way shape or form you get to take the blame."

"Deal."

Alex turned toward Sam and figured just laying the truth bare was easier than trying to sugar coat it. "Kara, my sister is Supergirl."

Sam sat for a moment and thought it over. Taking Ruby to the DEO so she could patch her up herself made so much more sense now. Kara her sister who is Supergirl had injured Ruby. Kara who seemed like a sweet, sometimes overly emotional person was the girl of steel. Now that Sam thought about it the glasses really didn't help.

"Well that explains a lot. I'm not mad but Alex is right Lucy this is a huge deal. I understand why I need to know but Kara should have been the one to tell me when the time is right. Just don't get any bright ideas about telling Ruby."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Although I was thinking of surprising her for her birthday with a visit from my sister in her suit but if Max continues to be a problem that won't be able to happen."

Sam laid her head on the table with a groan. With everything that had happened in the last 48 hours Sam had completely forgotten about her daughter's birthday. "Fuck Alex. With Max coming back I had completely forgotten that Ruby's birthday is in a few days."

"Don't worry Sam. Ruby will still get a birthday. We'll have to adjust a few things, but Max isn't going to ruin her 13th birthday. Besides I still have to beat Lena at the present game. Which I think I have, and no I'm not telling you what it is."

Sam still wasn't too sure about this. Max always found a way to ruin everything. She was sure that no matter the amount of precautions the took he would ruin her daughter's birthday. But she put all those thoughts aside and looked at Lucy, "What is the plan you've come up with."

Lucy smirked, "Well I don't have all the logistics planned out which is why I need the two of you. Alex is one of the best tactical leaders I've ever had the pleasure of watching in action and have been able to work with side by side a few times.

"I said Max would always be two steps ahead of us. Alex can give us the ability to get to those steps. Now this is where you and Alex come into play as the only people that have an intimate knowledge on Max. You more specifically. If we can come up with a plan that has several options of how we should move forward we might be able to catch him at his own game of cat and mouse."

"Yes, that sounds like the most logical way of planning how do we know what our first move should be. I know Max is going to plan on us using Supergirl in this plan and he will have, like you said, planned to be two steps ahead of that. Honestly maybe offering him what he wants would be the one thing he doesn't expect."

Lucy liked the way Sam was thinking. She herself had thought about that and each scenario she came up with they always lost. She also had been running these scenarios on her own and not with these two. Maybe this was worth exploring a little further.

"What do you think Alex? I've run a few scenarios around and they have always ended in Max getting what he wants."

Alex had to think about it. If they banked on Max thinking they would take the easy route just to gain the upper hand later then they would have to start part B of the plan and hope that was all they would need to do to capture the guy. But all of that was making her head spin trying to think about it.

"I think it is worth planning out but with us having various scenarios planned out with our own course correction planned in so we can keep it rolling without having to regroup and that is the part that is going to be most confusing. As much as I don't want to, we may need to bring Winn and Vas in on this. We may need them to help build some tech that we can sneak past Max's best security defenses."

Lucy couldn't help but agree with Alex. She turned to Sam and took the other woman's hands, "Sam I know you want to involve as few people as possible with this, but Maxwell Lord is working with CADMUS and my father. This may be the only opportunity we have to get Max and CADMUS. Vas is an excellent hacker and is good with tech. Winn is excellent at creating new tech to fit the job at hand and is a decent hacker as well."

Sam got up from the table and walked to one of the windows. She knew she had no right to ask them not to include the DEO in this attack but a part of her was still scared that the more people that got involved in this the more people Max would be able to hurt. She turned back toward Lucy and Alex, "Winn and Vas should be enough to get the job done but no one else if we can help it."

Lucy and Alex both nodded. Sam walked back to the table to help them get started on a game plan. Sam still wasn't sure if all their planning would be enough. This was Maxwell Lord after all. The mastermind of all masterminds.


End file.
